'Sesame Street' Movie, Starring Anne Hathaway, Has Been Delayed

A new live-action Sesame Street movie has been in the works since at least 2012, and last year, we learned that Portlandia co-creator Jonathan Krisel was hired to direct it. Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway has been confirmed to star and production was originally supposed to get underway next month, but a new report says shooting has been delayed for nine months, which means it's unlikely the movie will be able to hit its original release date.

Please read this next line with the voice of The Count in your head: "Nine! Nine months! Ah-ha-ha!" That's how long the start of production on the Sesame Street movie has been pushed back, according to a piece from The Wrap. The film was supposed to start shooting this July, but now that's been bumped all the way back until April of 2020 due to "a conflict with Hathaway's schedule." It's unclear what that schedule conflict is (maybe it's another season of the Amazon anthology series Modern Love?), but The Wrap says that while the film is technically still scheduled to hit its original release date of January 15, 2021, it seems extremely unlikely that such a huge push back will allow for that to actually happen.

The film will be a musical about beloved characters like Big Bird, Ernie & Bert, Elmo, Oscar the Grouch, and more members of the long-running PBS children's series as they find themselves lost in New York City, unable to find their way back to Sesame Street. That's when they meet Sally Hawthorne (Hathaway), the host of a history show who is on a quest to prove once and for all that Sesame Street actually exists. As you may expect, obstacles pop up to keep them from getting back easily, including an evil mayor who wants to keep Sesame Street hidden from the outside world. Mike Rosolio (American Vandal) wrote the first draft of the screenplay, Chris Galletta (The Kings of Summer) wrote the most recent draft, and we just learned earlier this week that YouTube star and acclaimed director Bo Burnham (Eighth Grade) is writing songs for the new movie. The film is a co-production between Warner Bros. and MGM.

Meanwhile, Hathaway is wrapping production on Robert Zemeckis's remake of The Witches this week.