Elizabeth Banks joins R-rated puppet noir The Happytime Murders

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

The last word we brought you guys on the upcoming R-rated puppet noir THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS was that Maya Rudolph had joined Melissa McCarthy in Brian Henson's flick. 

And if that wasn't enough casting news for you, today we learned that Elizabeth Banks – known around this parts for her role in James Gunn's classic horror-comedy SLITHER – has just joined the cast!

This is, truthfully, the first bit of casting news that has excited me. I'm all for this film as I have a soft spot for puppets. If you do too then make sure to check out Peter Jackson's MEET THE FEEBLES.

THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS, for those who might not know, is "set in the underbelly of Los Angeles where puppets and humans coexist. Two clashing detectives, one human (McCarthy) and one puppet, are forced to work together to try to find out who is brutally murdering the former cast of “The Happytime Gang,” a beloved classic puppet show."

You can check the flick's official synopsis below, as well as some concept art, and then make sure to let us know what you think of THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram!

THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS synopsis: 

The puppet stars of the iconic TV show The Happytime Gang are some of the biggest celebrities around. But off-camera, the family-friendly cast leads the kinds of lives that would make a tabloid writer blush. When the Happytime Gang stars begin to be mysteriously murdered, two mismatched detectives – one a type-A, take-no-prisoners human with a secret and the other a crass, hard-drinking puppet with a connection to one of the victims – must put aside their huge differences to stop the killings and catch the culprit, all the while trying to resist the temptation to murder each other.

THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS hits screens August 17th, 2018.