Jim Carrey To Lead Live-Action Adaptation of Classic Animated Series

Jim Carrey is reportedly circling a live-action feature film adaptation of The Jetsons. Created as a sci-fi counterpart to Hanna-Barbera’s Stone Age set The Flintstones, the series debuted on ABC in primetime and ran for three seasons. The first from 1962 to 1963, with the latter two in syndication from 1985 to 1987. The Jetsons centered on the daily lives of the titular family living in a retro-futuristic city. The cartoon, along with other Hanna-Barbera series like The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, and Scooby-Doo!, became beloved pop culture institutions.

Variety confirmed that Jim Carrey is in talks to star as George Jetson, the patriarch of the Jetsons, in a live-action feature film of the iconic animated series from Warner Bros. The Wrap was the first to break the news. Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow is reportedly attached to direct The Jetsons and pen the screenplay alongside writer Joe Epstein. It is unclear when the film will be released, but it seems to be the next and only project in line for Carrey (unless he returns for Sonic the Hedgehog 4).

It’s Been a Long Road for ‘The Jetsons’

The Jetsons

Warner Bros.

The Jetsons‘ previous, and only other theatrical film, was 1990’s Jetsons: The Movie, which was a critical and financial bomb. Attempts at a live-action Jetsons movie took off in the mid-2000s, following the box office success of Hanna-Barbera’s animated series turned blockbuster film, Scooby-Doo!. Directors Rob Minkoff (Stuart Little), Adam Shankman (Hairspray), Robert Rodriguez (Desperado), and Conrad Vernon (Monsters vs. Aliens) were all attached to helm a Jetsons movie at one point in time over the past twenty years. Even Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future) was attached to a television revival in 2017, but the project never materialized.

The idea of adapting a beloved 1960s cartoon was all the rage in the 1990s and early 2000s. Sometimes it yielded box-office hits like The Flintstones, Casper, George of the Jungle, and Scooby-Doo! Other times, though, it yielded box office flops like Mr. Magoo, Dudley Do-Right, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Underdog, and the Flintstones prequel, Viva Rock Vegas. Following the disappointing performance of Yogi Bear in the holiday season of 2010, it seemed like live-action attempts at 1960s cartoons were out, as Warner Bros. scrapped plans for a live-action Hong Kong Phooey voiced by Eddie Murphy.

Jim Carrey has a solid track record of bringing animated characters to life. Aside from 2000’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas, he certainly garnered a new generation of fans thanks to his portrayal of Dr. Robotnik in the Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy. Carrey’s cross-generational appeal could turn The Jetsons into a box-office hit, especially after the retro-futurist aesthetics of Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps garnered praise from critics and audiences. Many compared it favorably to The Jetsons, and now Warner Bros. is looking to cash in and give the audience the actual Jetsons world on the big screen.