Jim Carrey will star in 20th Century Fox’s children’s book adaptation Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Deadline reports.
After a brief swirl of casting rumors – Owen Wilson, Jack Black and Ben Stiller (who would’ve reunited with Greenberg director Noah Baumbach) were eyeing the role – Carrey has snagged the role of Mr. Popper, a New York businessman whose upscale life suddenly derails when he unexpectedly inherits six penguins. His life proceeds to descend into merry chaos – his business deal suffers, he may even land in jail – even as he develops an attachment to his waddling, feathered charges.
Mark Waters (Mean Girls, The Spiderwick Chronicles) will be directing, from a script by Jared Stern which rewrites an existing version by Sean Anders and John Morris. It sounds like an oddly perfect fit for Carrey, and reminds me of his multi-faced role in A Series of Unfortunate Events rather than just a standard comedy.
Are you looking forward to ‘Mr. Popper’s Penguins,’ or has Jim Carrey reached the limit of his relevance? Let us know!