New Pee-wee Herman Movie in Development

Yes, children of the early-‘90s, it’s true: Judd Apatow (40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up) is currently developing the next feature-length Pee-wee Herman film. It’s a long time coming, seeing how the last one, Big Top Pee-wee, came out in 1988 (and was the sequel to 1985’s Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, which launched Tim Burton’s career).

Apatow, who’s recruited actor/comedian Paul Rust to work on the script with Pee-wee star Paul Reubens, became interested in the project after seeing the revival of Reubens’  stage comedy The Pee-wee Herman Show, a send-up of children’s television shows that brought his lovable man-child character Pee-wee to the national spotlight in the early 1980s.

From there, and the two movies, Pee-wee went on to star in the acclaimed Saturday-morning children’s show Pee-wee Playhouse, a lighter version of his stage show. Playhouse ran from 1986 to 1990 receiving widespread acclaim and garnering 15 Emmys, before Reubens’ star descended due to his arrest for indecent exposure in 1991.

Throughout the ‘90s and ‘00s, Reubens played several bit parts, including a recurring character on the television show Murphy Brown, as superhero The Spleen in 1999’s Mystery Men, and as a drug dealer in 2001’s Blow, among others. Reubens is currently touring with The Pee-wee Herman Show.

But if you can’t wait for the movie to get your Pee-wee fix, you can follow him on Twitter here. I know I’m excited, but what are you?