He is what he is, and we should have expected no less. E.C. Segar’s classic character entered the public domain this year so the next logical step is slasher film. Does this include any of his supporting cast? Most of the Oyl family should also be public domain, though I doubt the average horror movie fan cares about Castor Oyl. (IMDB does list a character named Olivia — plot clue? We shall see.)
Directed and co-written by Robert Michael Ryan from John Doolan’s screenplay, Popeye the Slayer Man arrives in limited theaters and VOD on March 21, 2025 from Vantage Media. The press release says,
“A group of friends sneak into an abandoned spinach canning factory to film a documentary on the legend of ‘The Sailor Man,’ who is said to haunt the factory and local docks, only to find out that the legend is all-too true.”
Popeye the Slayer Man stars Sean Michael Conway, Elena Juliano, Mabel Thomas, Marie-Louise Boisnier, Jeff Thomas, and Steven McCormack, along with “scream queens” Angela Relucio (Code Black, The Cabining) and Sarah Nicklin (The Black Mass, Garden of Eden).
Jason Stephens plays the title role.
Special makeup effects are supervised by R.J. Young with cinematography by Korey Rowe.
When Popeye first entered the public domain, I saw some debate about whether or not spinach could be included. It seems like a minor detail, but that was an element added for the Fleischer Studios cartoons. In the original Thimble Theater, Popeye gained strength by rubbing a magic wiffle hen, which could have been an hilarious element here. But the copyright of those short cartoons seems all over the place, so they’re probably safe and how are you supposed to copyright spinach anyway?
That’s been Derek’s moment of pedantry. Thank you.
Fanboy Planet is an Amazon affiliate. Purchases made through links on this and other pages may generate a commission for this site.
