Warner Bros. has given out two dates for their upcoming films family-friendly television-to-film adaptations: ‘Sesame Street’ and ‘Tom and Jerry.’
‘Sesame Street’ – January 15, 2021
Jonathan Krisel will serve as writer and director of the upcoming ‘Sesame Street’ feature film. Krisel is popular for directing several episodes of FXX’s ‘Man Seeking Woman,’ IFC’s ‘Portlandia,’ and FX’s ‘Baskets.’ He was the director of all 6 episodes of the A24 series ‘Moonbase 8,’ which should be coming out soon, despite not having a home yet. However, The Hollywood Reporter states Chris Galletta (‘The Kings of Summer’) wrote the most recent draft of the screenplay.
Krisel said that “It’s going to be big,” with a budget that could be in the $50 million range. Anne Hathaway (‘Ocean’s 8,’ ‘Serenity’) will star. The plot is being kept under wraps, but it will be a musical drawing inspiration from the show’s theme song, with characters getting lost in New York City and trying to find their way back to Sesame Street.
Further, filming should begin this summer, potentially this May, on-location in New York City.
‘Sesame Street’ will release the week after an untitled Blumhouse film, and two weeks before Paramount’s ‘Rugrats.’
‘Tom and Jerry’ – April 16, 2021
The upcoming live-action/hybrid feature adaptation of the animated series ‘Tom and Jerry’ now has a date. Casting has already begun for the role of the character Kayla, who teams up with Tom to stop the pesky Jerry from ruining an important event for herself.
Here is the shortlist of actors in the mix for the role:
- Olivia Cooke (‘Bates Motel,’ ‘Ready Player One’)
- Zoey Deutch (‘The Disaster Artist,’ ‘Zombieland 2: Double Tap’)
- Becky G (‘Empire,’ ‘Power Rangers’)
- Yara Shahidi (‘Tales of Arcadia,’ ‘Grown-ish’)
- Kelly Marie Tran (‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi,’ ‘Sorry For Your Loss’)
- Isabela Moner (‘Sicario: Day of the Soldado,’ ‘Dora the Explorer’)
Moreover, Tim Story (‘Ride Along’ and 2000’s ‘Fantastic Four’ franchises) will direct ‘Tom and Jerry.’ His next film is Warner Bros. ‘Shaft’ reboot, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Richard Roundtree, and Jessie T. Usher, releasing June 14th.
As an aside, Story was talking to Warner Bros. executives about what he had interest in doing next. So, when the cartoon property was brought up, he immediately mentioned his admiration for the characters and how he’d love tackling that property, especially having worked in animation before.
Additionally, the plan is to shoot in the real world with 2D animated versions of the familiar cat and mouse pair. Since Tom and Jerry didn’t speak and relied on physical comedy to draw laughs, this version will stick to that style and not cast actors to voice the duo.
Further, the screenplay is from Bryan Schulz & Cornelius Uliano (‘The Peanuts Movie’), and Kevin Costello (‘Brigsby Bear’).
Meanwhile, ‘Tom and Jerry’ will begin filming between May and July in London, England, and wrap sometime in mid-to-late September. Cinematographer Alan Stewart (Guy Ritchie’s Aladdin’ and ‘Bush’) is also onboard the project.
‘Tom and Jerry’ has the April 16th date all to itself, for now.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter