A couple of days ago, we told you that the Farrelly brothers’ (There’s Something About Mary) oft-delayed Three Stooges film was gearing up to move into production with Johnny Knoxville, Andy Samberg and Australian comic Shane Jacobson as Moe, Larry and Curly respectively. Well, it seems someone jumped the gun a bit, as Pete Farrelly recently spoke up to vehemently deny that any casting had taken place:

"You don’t want people to think ‘they’ve already cast that thing,’ because we haven’t. It’s wide open to anybody"

While Farrelly says he’s a fan of both Knoxville and Samberg, neither have auditioned nor do they have the part, “Right now, I don’t know. There’s no leader in the clubhouse.” For more from Farrelly including the plot of the film, how it’s split up into three acts, and what he has to say regarding the original cast of Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Jim Carrey falling out, hit the jump.

The Farrelly brothers’ Three Stooges film has been in the works for a while now. Originally, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Jim Carrey were set to play Larry, Moe and Curly respectively. However, things went south when Penn dropped out of the project. Speaking with EW about Penn’s departure, Farrelly had this to say:

"That was real. Sean Penn wanted to do it and when Sean wanted to do it, everyone wanted to do it. But he is extremely involved in Haiti right now. We heard that if we waited a couple years, we could probably get him, but we’ve already waited a few years."

Shortly after Penn left, Carrey dropped out of the project as well. In fact, this past November Carrey said that he thought the project was dead, and admitted that he dropped out because gaining the weight to play Curly was just too difficult. While Farrelly was obviously annoyed with the casting rumors, he did spend a good amount of time talking about the plot of the film. This version of The Three Stooges will not be a biopic. It will be a fictional comedy.

"It’s The Three Stooges just like the [old shorts]. They’re going to look the same, dress the same, sound the same, act the same, with the same sound effects."

The film will reportedly be broken up into three acts, with each one being a stand-alone story. While the second two acts will take place in present day, the first act will take place 40 years ago and will show the Stooges as infants.

"A car whips by an orphanage, throws a duffel bag out its window and keeps going. A nun sees the duffel and opens it up, and a little baby hand comes out and — Boink! — hits her in the eye. So that first episode is them growing up in the orphanage."

The second act will apparently see the Stooges on a road trip-style adventure, while the final act starts with them all alone, having split up, and dealing with the outside world without having each other to hit and slap. Farrelly says he’s aiming for a PG rating for the film and wants actors who will transform themselves into the eponymous characters; an impression, not a variation.

"I don’t want ‘somebody’s version of Moe, it’s not like Batman where you can have your own take on Batman."

Personally, this take on the Stooges sounds a bit strange. I’d much rather see a biopic than a PG-rated slapstick comedy divided into three separated acts. It all sounds like a bad Brendan Fraser movie. Though perhaps that’s what they’re going for: a family film that skews younger with its physical humor rather than biting wit. Production on the 20th Century Fox film is set to start in April in Atlanta. With filming set to begin so soon, expect some solid casting confirmations sooner rather than later.