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Big Disney Updates: Muppets, Pirates, & Guillermo, Oh My!

by Ethan Anderton
September 11, 2009

More and more news just keeps flooding from the D23 Expo and thankfully they sent us press releases, so we don't have to physically be there to hear about a few big announcements. I'll be honest and say that I'm not absolutely enthralled with all three of the following announcements, but two out of three isn't bad. So first let's jump right into the one that I'm not entirely psyched about, but I'm sure that plenty of other people are. Johnny Depp was on hand as Captain Jack to tell everyone about the title of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth installment of the series to be released summer 2011.

Though plot details are scarce at this time, the crew at Cinematical might have an interesting lead on the story. It seems there exists a a novel by Tim Powers, that just happens to be about pirates, and just happens to be called On Stranger Tides. Even more interesting is that the online summary of the book mentions The Fountain of Youth as a plot device for the novel. You may remember that at the conclusion of the third Pirates installment, At World's End, there's reference to the mythical wonder of the world, and that has always been the assumed direction the next film in the series would make. Of course all we can do is speculate, but it's definitely something to ponder. All I know is that it's going to take one hell of a story for me to get psyched for another Pirates flick. The sequels definitely ran their course on my patience.

Another long-standing series of sorts got a big push today as The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made! was also unveiled through a song and dance number by a whole slew of Muppets on stage. The film is indeed being written by Jason Segel (as we first found out about over a year ago) and it seems like the idea for this flick comes from another that was in development by Jim Henson himself back in 1985. The idea had Gonzo directing a Hollywood movie and very quickly running out of money to make it, and it seems this same story will be at the heart of Segel's Muppet movie. Though some of the more recent Muppet fare has been lackluster (Muppets from Space anybody?) I love these fuzzy puppets, and with Jason Segel writing, I don't think this can go wrong.

Finally, another cool announcement came in the form of a new animation endeavor that has writer/director Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) and Disney launching a new toon label called Double Dare You which will focus its energy on making darker, edgier animated films. Del Toro will produce all the films under the new banner and will also step up to direct a couple of them himself. Regarding the announcement Del Toro said, "As a director, I love to take audiences into fantastic new worlds and provide them with some anxious moments in the process. It is part of the Disney canon to create thrilling, unforgettable moments and villains in all their classic films." The first picture from Double Dare You will be Trollhunters based on an original story by del Toro, but more interestingly, he says that all the flicks will be tied together by "one feature that shall remain secret, but that you shall soon be very familiar with."

But who knows how soon these projects will get off the ground, because Del Toro is one of the busiest guys right now. He'll be spending the next 3 years getting his two-part adaptation of J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit into theaters, as well as three remakes set up at Universal (Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Kurt Vonnegut's sci-fi classic Slaughterhouse-Five). Today was definitely a big news day for Disney, and I'm sure there's plenty of more coming with all the Marvel tomfoolery that's still being tossed around. Stay tuned for more news from the D23 expo and these brand new projects. Which of these excite you the most?

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Related categories: Hype, Movie News, Opinions

http://bellsouth.net Sean

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides coming out in 2011, wow!, this great news!. Now i bet the next update for pirates of the caribbean: on stranger tides, is going to be that its coming out in "may" 2011, because the previous movie came out in may or so, hey!, why not this next pirates of the caribbean movie come out in the same month as the last movie, but "of course", in 2011?!?!. SOUNDS GREAT!, I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT FINALLY!!!!!.
Robbie

Uhm, I think I'm most excited about Pirates.
Janny

pirates sounds interesting have a pirates vs conquistadors
http://mattehavoc.blogspot.com DJ Heinlein

The film titles for POTC and the Muppets film are lame names! They need to go back to the drawing board for those ones. Especially the POTC title which sounds like a cheap spin-off of a Harlequin novel or a Twilight sequel. I am kind of pumped up about the Del Toro projects, because I am hoping it will be like the Goosebumps series only more frightening!!
Prestron

I love old muppet movies, and with good writing I think the franchise still has value. I apologize for laughing at the Pirates/Twilight name comparison, DJ. I've held both in equal contempt, and I haven't even seen Twilight. Though I do agree that sequels don't need colons. The Dark Knight is for example is a concise and recognizable name Slaughterhouse Five-- I think it's all in the interpretation. I can imagine Del Toro giving us a very literal interpretation visually while still leaving some mystery as to what really is happening to Billy Pilgrim. This was my most compelling part of reading the book. Kurt Vonnegut was a master of illuminating ideas by adjusting our contrast.
Al

didn't the other sequels ruin it enough, why do they want to further ruin the Pirates Franchise?
Fisherr

I knew there was a fourth Pirates movie.
BuzzMonkey

The Muppets are dead, for christ's sake. Who the hell wants to see puppets on the big screen anymore? But the Pirates film sounds rad. Wish I could have been there to see Depp as Sparrow. Hopefully this new film will recapture the spirit of the first and leave all the convoluted plot twists out - those nearly sunk the latter two.
Brian Barajas

screw you, i loved muppets from space
Derek

i'm def more excited about anything Guillermo's doing... personally, i don't give a f--- about the next pirates movie. The first one was sick, but they've gotten progressively worse... JDepp needs to star in a Guillermo movie... and i can't mention depp w/o sayin Alice in Wonderland is gonna be sick!!!!
Stevo

Anyone who saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall knows the ungodly hilarious potential a Jason Segel Muppets movie can have. The Dracula puppet play (probably the funniest part of a hilarious movie) was done with the help of Jim Henson's Creature shop. Listening to the making of and director commentary, apparently Segel has a huge thing with muppets and the whole dracula opera was actually a play he himself wrote years ago. The Pirates announcement is blah, I am frankly a little surprised they didn't try to milk one out sooner. Good that Depp is back, I guess. The del Toro thing sounds almost like a non-issue. I would more expect that he will end up producing it and picking up a sexy new comer up like he did with D9. I wouldn't complain about that in the least.
Tortcannon

It would definitely be Pirates but like my professor once said when he payed to see the second one, "Its all just a scam to make you go see the next one, but if it was not for my wife and kids I would wait to rent it." But everything in life now is basicly a scam.
http://www.firstshowing.net me

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides! I'll wait for news about this one.
beavis4play

the first "pirates" movie was a classic.........the two sequels were huge disappointments for me, though. so, i'm going to try and be positive and HOPE that the next film returns to the glory of the original.
Michael

I'm seeing the end of the pirates movie in my mind. Johnny Depp in a busy town center 2011.
Tra la la la la di da

I like the muppets but have no care for some theatrical release movie. As for Pirates, I enjoyed the first one but the others were easily Disney's greed showing. They love making money and therefore love making sequels.
Lando

Damn, I guess Im the only one excited to see Del Toro's "Slaughterhouse five"!!!!!!!! I can wait for Pirates to hit cable (free too, not OnDemand) and the hobbit Id see in theaters. slaughterhouse five is a great classic and is a must see for any sci-fi fan! (as long as your definition of sci fi doesnt mean transforming toys and keanu spitting pseudo philosophy..)
http://bellsouth.net Sean

@ #2 I right there with you!, i feel the exact same way you do!. I have hopes for pirates of the caribbean: on stranger tides, because every time a year passes by, all big bidget-big action-adventure-science fiction-special effects- epic movies, just get better and better, because of big movie camra and computerized special effects getting better and better also for movies like these pirates of the caribbean movies, which is one of the franchises that all that kind of stuff requires!, to make the movie unimaginably amazingly good!, when it comes to to involving entertainment!!!!.
Chips

I'd like too Del Toro finish something now. He's spent the last year gushing about all of these projects; it's about time to see some action.
Cody

Pirates! Only for the amazing music that will come!
Film Fan

Ugh. ENOUGH with those "Pirates" films. The first was so great. Fresh, original, had a story. The second and third were utter garbage. Only made to make money. Gone was everything that made the first so much fun. I really hope Johnny Depp has the good sense to move on.
http://bellsouth.net Sean

#21, I'm gonna have to say that i disagree with you!, They need to continue with these pirates movies, because they are so good, and never really get old, because they get better and better every time they are released!. I hope they continue with the pirates of the caribbean movies until johnny depp gets too old to play that character "captain jack sparrow", but "of course", not too old!, because that would be extremely weird!!!!.
snickers

Another vote for the first Pirates movie. The sequels were just shit. They should forget about a fourth one, but of course, they won't.
gabe the Accuser

Disney is surely trying to expand and grow which they must. I dont know how long they would have lasted just creating child friendly movies although they still make money. Seems as if they are trying to change their stature in the industry.
Clover

No.....The Fountain of Youth
Mark

I'm looking forward to Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, just because the writers were given the space to actually finish the script before the filming started. Poor guys were still writing the second one when Disney started filming, so by film three, they pretty much filmed a first draft. Double Dare You should be interesting, especially because John Lasseter is involved in all feature animation at Disney, so he'll keep it on track and not needlessly self-indulgent. As long as Guillermo del Toro doesn't go all Hellboy on those films, they should be good. Muppets are awesome.
http://bellsouth.net Sean

@ #23, No, pirates 2, and 3 were not shit at all, they were as good as the first, but not as original as the first one!. Thats why many people didn't like the secind and third pirates of the caribbean movie, but in reality they are awesome movies!!!!!!!!!!.
snickers

@27 - You're more or less alone in that opinion.
S

#11, that's what I was thinking! I wish they'd just do the full length Dracula play from Sarah Marshall.
wm

#19. haha if Del Toro let's his guard down and makes a film, someone else might swoop in and buy the rights to everything. Then where will he be?
http://bellsouth.net Sean

No!, i think you mis-understood me!, read again what i said there #28, you totally mis-took what i've said, as i predicted someone here obviously would!. Just read it again!, then you get what i've said there before!, alright!?.
Edward

Personally I thought the first two Pirates movies were great, while the third one was kinda blah. Hopefully part 4 can recapture the magic. And it's good that Depp will be back; a POTC movie without him would be pointless.
http://bellsouth.net Sean

I just went over on the movie website imdb.com and have discovered that the pirates of the caribbean: on stranger tides webpage on that movie website has "July 2011" as pirates of the caribbean: on stranger tides's estimated theatrical release date!.
http://bellsouth.net Sean

Disney.go.com has just added a section for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Steanger tides, sooner then i ever thought that they ever would!. Now the onnly other thing to wait for, for that movie is the trailers, posters and images and the soundtrack and the movie itself!.