Pee-Wee’s Playhouse movie to be produced by Judd Apatow

Variety reports that Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) is set to produce the third Pee-Wee Herman film, tentatively slated for release next year by Universal. Apatow’s bro-ish brand of humor seems at first like a strange fit, but then again, Pee-Wee creator Paul Reubens, turning 58 this year, offers abstinence rings for sale on his webstore. Reubens will co-write the script along with actor Paul Rust (Inglourious Basterds).

Earlier this year, Reubens reintroduced his iconic character in a live setting with The Pee-Wee Herman Show; initial demand exceeded expectations and it had to move from Hollywood’s Henry Fonda Theater to L.A.’s Club Nokia to accommodate a larger audience. The production will get a second run on Broadway, starting on the 26th of October at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.

The new film — the first since 1989′s Big Top Pee-Wee — is supposedly centered on the characters of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse as they venture out into “a reality-based world and a linear road movie,” reports the New York Times. Back in January, Reubens revealed to Latino Review that one major plot device includes the King of Cartoons being kidnapped by an antagonist played by Chris Rock. In light of the recent online standalone clip (above), maybe we can expect an edgy PG-13 approach in which Cowboy Curtis gets tasered and Chairry uses upholstery-enhancing drugs. And Pee-Wee visits an adult theater. (OK, that was intended as a corny joke, but hey, considering the film-within-a-film ending of Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, who knows how meta things might get…?)