There’s a short list for franchises yet to be plundered by Hollywood studios, let alone ones of high quality and deserving of being resuscitated by the right people. If there’s one franchise (and character) that could be revived and retain its vibe in a new film it would be Pee-Wee Herman.
In an interview with MTV Paul Reubens said that he’s toyed with the idea of not one but two new Pee-Wee movies. Fans of weirdo comedies that border on the insane rejoice!
Reubens described both scripts in the interview, saying that one would be an extension of the hit show Pee-Wee’s Playhouse while the other would be darker in tone, telling the story of Pee-Wee as an overnight success in the music industry who signs on to Elvis-inspired musicals and has a hard time dealing with seedy Hollywood types.
Both scripts sound worthwhile, but Pee-Wee’s Adventure producer Tim Burton is “too booked” to helm either project. That’s bad news to any Pee-Wee enthusiast weaned on pure nostalgia.
Reubens also expressed interest in having Johnny Depp play the part of Pee-Wee if he found himself not up for it (a bit odd, considering his first public appearance in 15 years as Pee-Wee at Spike TV’s Guy Choice Awards earlier this year). Depp has been reported to have said “I’ll think about it” to Reubens, but no concrete statement has come forward thus far.
My only skepticism comes not from Reubens’ writing the scripts but the lack of involvement from earlier collaborators, namely Tim Burton. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure was brought to life from the pairing of two zany personalities. One can only hope the same magic can be duplicated without Burton.
And Johnny Depp as Pee-Wee? While I wouldn’t put it past Depp to bring forth a new kind of Pee-Wee, he can be polarizing instead of lovable and odd. Still, Reubens and Depp worked together in Blow, and Reubens seems to know what he’s doing in terms of his legendary character.
I say first things first: get Laurence Fishburne on the line, and see if he will reprise his breakthrough role as Cowboy Curtis from Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. If he’s game, this project is on.
