I’m not exactly sure that we need a Sesame Street movie, but when has need ever been a consideration on whether or not a movie gets made? Warner Bros. is moving ahead with their Sesame Street movie, and Variety reports that Portlandia director and co-creator Jonathan Krisel has been hired to direct. The film will reportedly be a musical. Per Variety, “Mike Rosolio penned the first draft, while Chris Galletta wrote the most recent version, which he’s polishing.”

When we last spoke with Shawn Levy and his fellow producers as 21 Laps back in 2016, they told us that they were closing a deal at Warner Bros. (the project had originally been set up at 20th Century Fox), they hope to make at least one Sesame Street movie. Obviously, if it’s the hit they’re hoping for, there will be sequels.

Sesame Street premiered back in 1969, and while there have been movies before like The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, something like Sesame Street would probably be more of a tentpole designed for more than just the youngest viewers. We would also be wise not to underestimate the popularity of Sesame Street since it’s been raising children and their children’s children and their children’s children for almost 50 years.

There are no details on what the plot would entail, but we shouldn’t be shocked to see Krisel behind the camera even though Portlandia is a very different show than Sesame Street. While this will mark his feature debut, he’s been nominated three times for his work on Portlandia, and I’m curious to see what he brings to a Sesame Street movie.

What do you want to see from the Sesame Street movie? Do you think it should be geared towards young children, or do you think the wiser move is to make it more broadly appealing (although still obviously sticking to G-rated fare since, after all, this is based on a program for kids)? Sound off in the comments.

sesame-street-movie

jim-henson-exhibit-images
Image via The Jim Henson Company / MoMI