It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about Genndy Tartakovsky’s animated Popeye movie, not since he left it in 2015 over creative differences with Sony. A longtime fan of the spinach-eating sailor, Tartakovsky toiled hard to make that movie happen, and despite the roadblock it seems the effort he put in my still pay off.
According to Animation Magazine, Tartakovsky’s Popeye movie is back on, with the director teaming up with rights-holders King Features. He’ll reportedly “go back to the drawing board”, whatever that means in this case, in an effort to bring a decade of development to fruition. Sony Pictures has been working on Popeye since 2010, and it’s likely they are still involved due to their current overall deal with Tartakovsky.
At one point the Popeye script was by Ratchet & Clank writer T.J. Fixman, but it’s unclear if that’s still the case. Tartakovsky is the animation dynamo behind the blockbuster Hotel Transylvania franchise, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and more. In 2014 he released some Popeye test footage that blew people away, and also showed his love for the character. Check it out below.
