We've been hearing about a Jetsons movie for quite some time. Back in 2012, Kanye West said that he was asked to be a creative consultant on the film, and then reiterated this allegation in 2013. At long last, though, Warner Bros. is moving forward with a new feature on the Hanna-Barbera property, but it doesn't look like West will be involved. Not only that, but it won’t be live action!
As reported by Deadline, plans for a live-action Jetsons movie fizzled out somewhere along the way, and Warner Bros. now plans to bring its family from the future to the silver screen through animation. This comes as a major turn of events, as it was in 2009 that Machete Kills director Robert Rodriguez first said he was busy working on the script for a live-action version with the hope of shooting it in 2010. Obviously, that didn’t happen, but Van Robichaux and Evan Susser were reportedly brought on to work on the script a few years later. Couple that with Kanye’s comments about working on the film and it seemed like a done deal. Unfortunately, it seems like feature version of the Jetsons has been scrapped. Matt Lieberman has been hired for script duties and he’s reportedly starting completely from scratch.
It’ll be interesting to see how audiences react to an animated feature and where the story will take us. Though the family lived in what was originally the distant future, their values and habits mimicked the lifestyles of the time the animated series was first around - the 1960s. While the older generations could look on an update of the Jetsons with fond memories and nostalgia, that may not be as enticing to younger audiences - which is likely going to be the primary market that this project is aiming towards. Will they connect with something like the Jetsons, which sees George as the traditional "head of the household" and Jane as the "mom in the kitchen" figure? Perhaps Lieberman’s script will update this image of the family unit.
Based on the WB’s history of adapting Hanna-Barbera properties, it doesn’t seem like a live-action version of The Jetsons would’ve been all that beneficial. If you look back, the studio had minor hits with projects like Scooby-Doo and The Flintstones, but both fizzled fast as franchises once sequels came around. While it’s unclear as to what would’ve constituted a live-action version of The Jetsons, we can presume it would require a lot of effects work to bring this space family, all their vehicles and gadgets, and their robot nanny to life. While an animated feature is no easy task, either, it makes more logistical sense. There certainly is an extra degree of creative freedom that comes with animation, and story doesn't need to be sacrificed.
