Heatvision is reporting that Lionsgate is producing a Brian Henson directed Muppet movie, but it’s not exactly what you’re thinking…

Here’s their synopsis of the film, “Happytime Murders”:

“Happytime” takes place in a world where humans and puppets co-exist, with the puppets viewed as second-class citizens. When the puppet cast of an ’80s children’s TV show called “The Happytime Gang” begins to get murdered one by one, a disgraced LAPD detective-turned-private eye puppet — with a drinking problem, no less — takes on the case with his former human partner. Think “Avenue Q” meets “L.A. Confidential.”

This sounds very much like a Who Framed Roger Rabbit? sort of story set in the 80s and I really couldn’t be more excited about this. This sounds like a very adult, dark version of the genre and it could be very, very good.

Some have speculated that this is going to be another Muppet movie, but I would say that’s impossible for two reasons:

1) This sounds far too dark

2) Disney owns all of the proper Muppets now, not Lionsgate.

In any case, it’s great to see that Muppets are getting their due in film now.  Between this, Jason Segal’s new Muppet Movie hitting theatres next year and the l0ng rumoured Dark Crystal sequel, we’ll be rolling in Muppets.  Now if we could get the Muppets in a murder mystery of their own, we’d be all set.  (Wouldn’t that be great to imagine?  Something like a cross between Clue: The Movie and The Muppet’s Take Manhattan?  That’s a movie I’d pay to see.)