Two Iconic Muppets Getting A Live-Action Origin Story?
We may soon be seeing two important Muppets characters get a live-action origin story.
The internet has provided some unique opportunities for audiences and creators today. In the past, all ideas for stories and the process for how a movie may get made happened behind closed doors. Today, we see photos online of writer rooms where the walls are covered in storyboards. We see major stars tweet ideas for movies, and then sometimes, even see them happen. Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista may soon be making a buddy cop movie after one of the stars tweeted out their wish for that to happen. Now, Ben Schwartz has an idea for a live-action Beaker origin story, and Josh Gad would like to sign on as Beaker.
See the first tweet with this idea from Ben Schwartz below.
To help jog your Muppets Show memory, Bunsen (more formally known as Dr. Bunsen Honeydew) is the one in the glasses. In an immediate reply to Ben Schwartz’s tweet, Josh Gad put himself in for the role of Bunsen and got a fair amount of support on the platform from fans. Meanwhile, Beaker is the muppet with the wild orange hair, known mostly for saying “meep”.
Every once and while, he may surprisingly say, “bye” or something else simple, but you mostly know Beaker for his high pitched “meeps”, his comical facial expressions that communicate well known for him to avoid using a language anyone else understands, and the fact that terrible stuff seems to happen to him all the time. A tornado would never miss this character. As Dr. Bunsen Honeydew goes about performing science experiments, Beaker gets caught in the wake as they go wrong. He catches fire in the lab, runs around the room, and dips his head in a sink full of water, all while Bunsen goes about his everyday business as a scientist. The roles Ben Schwartz and Josh Gad are interested in were mostly set up as side comedy gags in The Muppet Show, but are definitely fan favorites.
Ben Schwartz is a comedian. He’s been known for his role in Parks and Recreation and more recently in Space Force. He’s also done stand-up and a fair amount of voice work. He’s the voice behind Sonic in the Sonic and Hedgehog movie. In Parks and Recreation he was a fan favorite, and also a character he considered to be too annoying for a spinoff series. He said his character would be too annoying for audiences to watch for a full thirty minutes, but was a fun character to watch in side stories. It’s interesting then that he thinks a Beaker origin story would be something he could pull off without it being annoying. Beaker is endearing and funny, but he also doesn’t speak. It’s likely the challenge of this idea that appeals to Ben Schwartz. It would rely a lot on physical comedy.
Josh Gad has an easier role to take on as Dr. Bunsen Honeydew for this idea. He gets to talk, say science-sounding things, and go about his business while Beaker makes everything hilarious. Josh Gad has also done voicework (he’s well known for his role as the snowman in Frozen). So if a live-action project doesn’t happen, they could always take the more traditional muppet route. The two would make sense as a comedy pair for The Muppets.
Is the Ben Schwartz and Josh Gad live-action Muppets movie likely to happen? Not today, but maybe someday. There have been stranger projects for the muppets than a Beaker origin story. And how neat would it be to finally get some answers to where the strange scientist came from. How did he end up at Bunsen’s side? Perhaps Ben Schwartz will soon reveal all.
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