The “character-going-to-public-domain-to-baffling-horror-movie” pipeline continues. On top of a whole Poohniverse of terror following Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, we have gotten a scary Steamboat Willie film, among others. Now, the next character to get this unfortunate treatment is Popeye. The often cranky sailor has a “raunchy horror” film coming that we’d rather not discuss. Instead, we are going to talk about the latest Popeye horror movie, which is titled Popeye The Slayer Man and expected to release in 2025. I’ll admit, that’s a very inspired and fun title.
Deadline reports that the Popeye The Slayer Man horror film “follows a group of friends who sneak into an abandoned spinach canning factory to film a documentary on the legend of the ‘Sailor Man’, who is said to haunt the factory and local docks.”
The film will star Sean Michael Conway, Elena Juliano, Mabel Thomas, Marie-Louise Boisnier, Jeff Thomas, Steven McCormack, Angela Relucio, and Sarah Nicklin. Jason Stephens will portray the killer version of Popeye.
“We can’t wait for audiences to get a load of this gory and scary version of Popeye,” said producer and Millman Productions founder Jeff Miller. “We went old-school and focused on using real practical effects, and not relying on CG for the gore. We’re talking with very enthusiastic and interested buyers now.”
We are pretty sure that someone will throw some cash behind this film. It seems to be already completed and, if nothing else, people will watch it out of sheer curiosity. I am a diehard horror lover but I truly believe there are more interesting avenues to go with these characters once they hit public domain. Why not sci-fi? A romantic drama? Literally anything besides a slashing fest could be the wave. Popeye The Slayer Man just might be coming to theaters or a streaming service soon to deliver a horror movie take on a classic character.
