Joseph Gordon-Levitt will star in a big screen reworking of the popular 1980s children’s puppet show Fraggle Rock, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The actor and filmmaker is also expected to take a producer’s role on the long-gestating project, which has been trying to get off the ground in Hollywood since at least 2010 . Gordon-Levitt’s involvement means the film is now likely to get a fresh start, with a new cast and director.
Fraggle Rock ran from 1983 to 1987 in the US, UK and Canada. Like The Muppets before it, the show sprang from the fertile mind of Jim Henson.
The series was set in a cave system populated by three distinct species of humanoids: the Fraggles, the Doozers and the Gorgs. The Fraggles are the main protagonists, stand around 18 inches tall and depicted in various colours with a shock of hair, bulging eyes and furry tails. The smaller Doozers resemble tiny construction workers, constantly building complex industrial carapaces which the carefree Fraggles enjoy eating, while the enormous, bumbling Gorgs are less populous and see the Fraggles as pests.
The Fraggle Rock film appears to have been given the green light following the huge success of 2011’s The Muppets, based on another popular Henson show. The film was a huge box office and critical success which introduced a new generation to the world of Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear et al and won the 2012 Oscar for best song. A sequel, Muppets Most Wanted, hit cinemas last year.
It is unclear which role Gordon-Levitt might take in the Fraggle Rock movie. In the show, the only humans observed were those featured in a series of alternate framing devices which would kick off the programme in the various countries where it screened. In the UK these featured a Scottish lighthouse keeper known as The Captain and his dog Sprocket, while the US and Canada substituted an inventor named Doc, also with a dog named Sprocket. In France, the hound in question was known as Croquette, and his master was a baker. The current take on Fraggle Rock is being put together by The Henson Co and production company New Regency.
