The Pink Panther has already had a 21st Century reboot with Steve Martin as the hapless Inspector Clouseau, who was first played by Peter Sellers in the 1963. However there’s also the ‘real’ Pink Panther – the animated cat who started off in the credits of the Sellers movies, before getting his own cartoon.
Now MGM, which owns the character, has revealed it’s developing a feasture-length CG/live-action feature film based on the animated Pink Panther. The legendary Julie Andrews will act as a producer, which may sound odd until you remember that she was the wife of the late Blake Edwards, who co-created and directed the original Pink Panther movies.
50 years on from his creation, the new movie is described as a caper that ‘will harken back to the tone shared by the original Friz Freleng and David H. DePatie cartoons as well as that of Blake Edwards’ films’.
Julie Andrews commented, “I am delighted that the legacy of Blake’s iconic Pink Panther franchise will continue to grow in its new hybrid form. It is exciting that the quintessential ‘next step’ for our beloved Panther will be enjoyed by a 4th generation of audiences. I feel that Blake is encouraging us on.”
David Silverman, producer of The Simpsons and the director of The Simpsons Movie, is currently set to helm.