Legendary puppeteer Jim Henson’s biopic ‘Muppet Man’ will now be written by screenwriter and playwright Michael Mitnick (‘The Current War‘, ‘The Giver’). ‘Muppet Man’ is a film by Disney and The Jim Henson Company.
‘Muppet Man’ will be a live-action film based on the life of Jim Henson. It will feature Henson’s journey and struggles as to how he convinced the media people in his idea of ‘The Muppets’ in his times and went on to make the iconic characters. Henson is known for creating ‘The Muppets’, ‘Fraggle Rock‘ and many of the ‘Sesame Street’ characters. He also served as director for films like ‘The Dark Crystal’ and ‘Labyrinth’.
‘Fly By Night’ scribe Mitnick will work on a script earlier written by Aaron and Jordan Kandell (‘Adrift’). As of now, Mitnick is working with Peter Chernin and Endeavor Content on a limited series on Siegfried & Roy. He is also involved in the adaptation of the novel ‘Light Of Days’ at Amblin.
‘Muppet Man’ will be produced by Henson’s daughter Lisa Henson, for The Jim Henson Company. Her upcoming production includes Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio’ on Netflix. The Jim Henson Company is the natural owner of Henson’s life rights while Disney owns the rights to the Muppets since 2004. Both discussed the making of Henson’s biopic around 2010 but its only now that we hear about the film finally taking shape at Disney and The Jim Henson Company.
Recent releases in the Muppet franchise include the Disney+ series ‘Muppets Now’ (2020) and the 2014 film ‘Muppets Most Wanted’.