Pee-wee Herman’s Next Film ‘Pee-wee’s Big Holiday’ Officially Begins Filming in March
After four years of development, Pee-wee Herman's next movie is official! Netflix announced today that filming on Pee-wee's Big Holiday is set to begin in March, with Judd Apatow producing and John Lee (Inside Amy Schumer) making his directorial debut.
While the title might make you think this is a Christmas movie, it's actually using the British form of the word; Pee-wee's going on vacation. Here's the official plot synopsis:
In Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, a fateful meeting with a mysterious stranger inspires Pee-wee Herman to take his first-ever holiday in this epic story of friendship and destiny.
It's interesting, we've never really known Pee-wee to have many human friends. He's a loner, a rebel. He could be bringing along some friends from Pee-wee's Big Adventure, but the last sequel, Big Top Pee-wee had almost no overlap with the first film. We'll be curious to see if this project is another standalone film or calls back to either the original film or Pee-wee's Playhouse.
Paul Reubens, who will produce alongside Apatow, co-wrote the script with longtime friend Paul Rust. Of the deal, Pee-wee said:
Judd and I dreamt up this movie four years ago. The world was much different back then — Netflix was waiting by the mailbox for red envelopes to arrive. I’ve changed all that. The future is here. Get used to it. Bowtie is the new black!
When it was initially announced back in 2011, as Pee-wee began his pop culture resurgence, the plan was to release the new movie in theaters. Universal Pictures was developing the project, but late last year, it was announced that Netflix had acquired the rights to the film. Like their production deal with Adam Sandler, Pee-wee's Big Holiday will premiere exclusively on Netflix in all of its territories. Director Lee was the co-creator, writer, director and star of Wonder Showzen and has directed episodes of Broad City and Inside Amy Schumer for Comedy Central.
There's no release date currently set, but sometime in late 2015, seems likely.