Welp, it’s really not easy being green. Plans for another Muppets-centric series for Disney+,Muppets Live Another Day, have been abandoned. The trio behind development on the series includedJosh Gadas well as ABC’sOnce Upon a TimeduoAdam HorowitzandEdward Kitsis.
Variety’s report from earlier this week indicate Gad, Horowitz, and Kitsis have called it quits on theirMuppets Live Another Dayproject. The series had never been formally announced, unliketheMuppets Nowshort form serieswhich is still moving forward after it was announced at the D23 Expo. The creative team chose to walk away from the project after “new leadership at Muppets Studios opted to take the series in a different direction,” according to Variety.
The Wrapreported on the workingMuppets Live Another Daysynopsis, which would have no doubt been fun for longtime Muppets fans to indulge in. Per the outlet, the now-scrapped series would have been set in 1984 and would have followed Kermit the Frog reuniting with the rest of the Muppets to find a missing member of their team. Given the time period, it’s possible the series could have directly followed the events ofThe Muppets Take Manhattan, which was also released in 1984.
Gad released a lengthy statement on his departure from the project via his Instagram. TheFrozenstar stresses the split from Muppets Studios was amicable and that this project stalled out because of creative differences. Gad also confirmed the synopsis and intentions forMuppets Live Another Day(“It was going to be Muppets by way ofStranger Thingsand feel like a movie spread over 6-8 episodes”) as well as reflecting on his experience developing it with Horowitz and Kitsis:
Part of the joy for us, by placing the Muppets in the middle of the 1980’s, was to subvert and comment on our current love for all things nostalgia while at the same time allowing the characters to tell a story that would ultimately lead to and end in present-day, revealing some secrets along the way. It has been one of the great joys of all of our lives to write words for these iconic characters. We wish this franchise all the best and thank our partners at Disney+ and ABC Studios for the opportunity to develop something so fun and outside the box. They have been nothing but supportive and terrific and we can’t wait to play again in other sandboxes. While it is sad, I have no doubt this franchise, under its new leadership, will find new and wonderful stories to tell.
It’s unclear at this point if theMuppets Live Another Dayseries will move forward in any capacity or if elements of it will be repurposed for another Muppets-focused series. For now, Muppets fans should take comfort in the fact that they’ll haveMuppets Nowto look forward to when Disney+ becomes available.
