I apologize for linking to a misrepresenting, jokey MTV Movies Blog post for the second day in a row, but I figured, despite the teasing headline, that I could use it to bring up an important point. The Arrested Development movie, which is all but definitely greenlit at this point (hopefully Keith Olbermann is convincing enough), may not be able to involve all our favorite actors, characters or inanimate objects from the series. And that needs to be … okay. Maybe Franklin, the ventriloquist dummy, really has been lost since the show was canceled, and won’t make it to the big screen. But even if the production is able to make a new Franklin puppet, it could choose not to. This doesn’t need to be like the final episode of Seinfeld (or even of Arrested Development, when you think about it) and feature every beloved part of every season.
Personally, although I loved Karina’s post about the five suggested plots for the movie, I am one of the huge Arrested fans who would rather not have a movie. The show had its run, it more or less tied everything up in the final episode and it is done. I imagine there is something interesting (and hilarious, of course) that the ensemble can do together in a feature-length film, but no matter what the result, it is likely to be a disappointment, whether it lacks Franklin or Judy Greer or anything/anyone else, because in the end it’s just some people trying to exploit another product with a built-in audience. By now it’s the same thing as making a movie based on G.I. Joe. But with less work for the casting department.
