No, this isn’t an April Fool’s Day joke for those of you who are skeptical of any articles being released today. MGM is creating a new Pink Panther movie that will hybrid CGI and live-action together into a film that is supposed to be more reminiscent of the older Pink Panther cartoons produced by Friz Freleng and David De Patie, as well as the work of Blake Edwards on later movies.
The film will be directed and produced by David Silverman, who is best known for his work on directing and producing The Simpsons Movie. Michael Price (who also worked on The Simpsons Movie) will be writing the script. Walter Mirisch, who was an executive producer of the original Pink Panther films and television series, will be producing this movie, along with the iconic actress Julie Andrews.
Instead of focusing on Detective Clouseau, this film will focus on the actual Pink Panther himself. “For the first time, the live action franchise will be united with the world-famous cartoon character in a new hybrid feature film,” Mirisch said.
The Panther will continue his silence in this film, as an international jewel heist caper ensues, with the original Mancini score to be reportedly used in the background.
Here is what some of the early Pink Panther work looked like:
