Candlesticks Out: Muppets Director May Have A “Clue”


In the wake of the critical/box-office (and Oscar-nominated) success of Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, 20th Century Studios is finally pushing forward on its long-in-development Clue remake, with James Bobin (2011’s The Muppets, Muppets Most Wanted and Dora and the Lost City of Gold) in talks to direct.

Clue is set to star Ryan Reynolds as the lead, and Reynolds’ production company, Maximum Effort has been developing the property alongside the Hasbro (owner of the Clue board game) toy/game company’s film division, Allspark Pictures.

Arrested Development’s Jason Bateman (who besides his regular television-directing gigs, has helmed two feature films: Bad Words and The Family Fang) was originally named to direct the film (scripted by Deadpool’s Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick), but he was sidelined by scheduling conflicts.

The original Clue (1985) film actually tanked at the box-office on its theatrical release, but is now much-beloved (in no small part due to the presence of Tim Curry and Madeline Kahn) and has gained a devoted cult following over the years; indeed many of the people flocking to multiple-Knives Out viewings were there to (Agatha Christie aside) catch some nostalgic Clue-vibes.

Although no casting announcements have been made (other than Reynolds, of course), and Bobin hasn’t officially signed-on as director, the prospects/climate look good for this reboot that originally started at Universal Pictures back in 2011, before moving over to 20th Century Studios (owned by Disney, like most things are now).