It’s a truth universally acknowledged that in this day and age, remakes are often the name of the game. It is similarly acknowledged that when the Muppets take on a beloved story, they do so in spectacular fashion. Take The Muppet Christmas Carol, an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ beloved short story that celebrates its 30th anniversary this month. But now it seems like the group’s attention might shift towards another iconic work in the British literary canon.
During an interview with Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo and Robin as part of Entertainment Weekly‘s Around the Table series, moderator Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso) pitched the idea of Muppets Pride and Prejudice, a film adaptation of Jane Austen‘s Pride and Prejudice starring himself and, well, Miss Piggy of course — who else could it be, with a working title like Pride and Prejudice and Piggy?
Through the years it’s always been Kermit the Frog who plays the romantic lead opposite Miss Piggy — with them even gender-bending the role of Benjamina Gunn in Muppet Treasure Island to make this possible in a story with little to no parts for women — it seems like Kermit will take a back seat to Goldstein this time around. The amphibian multi-hyphenate gamely agreed to produce the film if Goldstein could get it green-lit. It may not be easy being green, but getting the film green-lit should be fairly straightforward when combining Goldstein’s pull and Miss Piggy’s push.
For fans of Ted Lasso, having Goldstein in the Darcy role is something of a no-brainer. Gruff and detached on the outside, but with an absolutely ooey-gooey heart of gold, with eyes for exactly one firecracker of a woman who takes absolutely none of his nonsense? Fitzwilliam Darcy and Roy Kent might just have more in common than anyone realizes.
The only potential hiccup in the plan from where I sit is that Pride and Prejudice has a lot of women in the cast, and there aren’t nearly enough female Muppets. Then again, there are probably very few actors out there who wouldn’t jump at the chance to appear in Pride and Prejudice and Piggy. If I might humbly suggest casting Goldstein’s Ted Lasso co-star Juno Temple as Jane Bennet opposite Kermit’s Mr. Bingley, just for that extra meta touch the Muppets do so well.
While we wait for this latest masterful adaptation of a literary classic, Miss Piggy’s many Muppet movies can be seen on Disney+, and Goldstein can be seen in Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. Alternatively, check out an iconic scene from the 1995 adaptation below:
