You’ve seen Winnie the Pooh as a killer. You’ve seen a sinister Steamboat Willie too. Next you’ll see Popeye the Slayer Man: “Toot, toot!” A trailer has just been released for one of two different Popeye horror films coming out in the near future, this one with an obvious edge in terms of incredible titles.
Popeye the Slayer Man follows a group of teenagers who sneak into an old spinach-canning factory hoping to film a documentary on a legendary “Sailor Man” who apparently haunts it. This, of course, does not go as planned when they realize the stories are true. Check out the absolutely hilarious, ultra-gory trailer for Popeye the Slayer Man, courtesy of Bloody Disgusting.
They had us as “contaminated spinach.”
So let’s break this down a bit. This is Popeye the Slayer Man, a film from Salem House Films, Millman Productions, Ron Lee Productions, and Otsego Media. It’s directed by Robert Michael Ryan from a script by John Doolan and stars Jason Stephens as Popeye along with a slew of young actors.
“We can’t wait for audiences to get a load of this gory and scary version of Popeye,” producer Jeff Miller told Bloody Disgusting. “We went old-school and focused on using real practical effects, and not relying on CG for the gore. We’re talking with very enthusiastic and interested buyers now.”
All of which is completely different from Popeye, another slasher film from ITN Studios and director William Stead. ITN is the company behind the Poohverse, an MCU-style horror universe combining slasher films with Pinocchio, Bambi, and most famously Winnie the Pooh (it did all the popular Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey films). But, Popeye—one word—is not part of that universe—and that film, of course, has nothing to do with Popeye the Slayer Man.
Such is the world of public domain, right?
No word on a release date or strategy for Popeye the Slayer Man but next year is more than likely.
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