The Sesame Street gang is headed back to the big screen. THR reports that 20th Century Fox has acquired the film rights to the beloved children’s show and has hired Joey Mazzarino, a long-time Sesame Street writer, to develop the script. Night of the Museum director Shawn Levy is also on board with the project.
“Producers are Shawn Levy and his 21 Laps banner, Michael Aguilar, Mark Gordon and Film 360's Guymon Casady,” writes THR.
20th Century Fox has neither confirmed nor denied the news.
Sesame Street, an educational children’s show known for its cast of quirky puppets and celebrity appearances, first aired in 1969. Networks in over 140 countries currently broadcast the program which has won 8 Grammy Awards and 118 Emmy Awards. A 1996 survey revealed that 95% of American preschoolers had seen Sesame Street before their third birthday.
The upcoming Sesame Street film isn’t the first movie the series inspired. Follow That Bird, starring John Candy, Chevy Chase, and Dave Thomas, hit theaters in 1985, while The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland debuted in 1999.