Chance the Rapper is in negotiations to join Anne Hathaway in Warner Bros.’ live-action adaptation of “Sesame Street.”
“Portlandia” director and co-creator Jonathan Krisel is helming the musical, co-financed by Warner Bros. and MGM. “Eight Grade” director Bo Burnham is contributing songs to the new film, which will hit theaters Jan. 15, 2021.
Shawn Levy and Michael Aguilar will produce the pic. Mike Rosolio and Chris Galletta have written drafts of the script with Jesse Ehrman overseeing the project for Warner Bros. Sesame Workshop, which holds the rights to the show, will also be involved in the development of the movie.
The story follows the Sesame Street characters after they are mysteriously expelled from their own neighborhood, forcing them to collaborate with history show host Sally Hawthorne to prove that Sesame Street actually exists. The educational series first premiered in 1969 with a combination of live-action puppetry and animation. “Sesame Street” is also home to the Jim Henson creations Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster and Elmo.
The TV series is produced by Sesame Workshop, known as the Children’s Television Workshop until 2000, and was created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett.
This marks Chance the Rapper’s second major acting job after starring in the A24 horror-comedy “Slice.” The hip-hop star also recently played himself in Netflix’s “Between Two Ferns” film, and is set to host a revival of “Punk’d” on short-form content platform Quibi.
He is repped by UTA. Collider was first to report the news of Chance’s involvement.
