Maya Rudolph Joins Melissa McCarthy’s Puppet Buddy Cop Comedy ‘The Happytime Murders’
The Happytime Murders is an R-rated comedic murder mystery that imagines a Los Angeles where humans and Henson-like puppets somehow coexist. It’s been in the works since 2008, with a number of people joining and then leaving as the project foundered. A year ago, Jamie Foxx was attached to star, but he left the project. Now, Melissa McCarthy is leading the project, and her Bridesmaids co-star Maya Rudolph joined up this week to help solve crime.
Deadline reports that Rudolph has joined the movie, which will be directed by Jim Henson’s son Brian Henson, who’s inherited his father’s puppet legacy. Deadline doesn’t mention who Rudolph will be playing in the movie, but given her recent penchant for voice acting, it’s a pretty good bet that she may be providing the voice for one of the puppets — perhaps McCarthy’s detective partner?
Here’s a brief summary of the project, according to Deadline:
The comedy is set in the underbelly of a Los Angeles where puppets and humans co-exist. Two clashing detectives, one human (McCarthy) and one puppet, are forced to work together to figure out who is brutally murdering the former cast of The Happytime Gang, a beloved classic puppet show.
The film doesn’t have a release date yet, but with the fast filling out, we can probably expect some news on that front very soon.