The Muppet Movie Is Returning to Theaters to Celebrate 40th Anniversary

Get ready, Muppets fans! Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and the rest of The Muppets gang are headed back to the movie theaters this summer, but not for a new movie. Instead, beloved characters will be back on movie screens for a special limited run of their very first feature film, The Muppet Movie, in celebration of the film's 40th anniversary.

This July, The Muppet Movie will return to more than 700 movie theaters nationwide courtesy Fathom Events, the Jim Henson Company, and Universal Pictures, according to Entertainment Weekly. The film will show at 12:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on both July 25 and July 30, giving fans a chance to relive the first Muppets big screen adventure in theaters.

"The Muppet Movie is a cinematic treasure, a delightful film that may have been made 40 years ago but is truly timeless, thanks both to its iconic characters and to its always-stirring theme of following your dreams and believing in your own abilities," Tom Lucas, Fathom Events Vice President of Studio Relations said. "This film's return to the big screen is very well deserved and we are happy to work with The Jim Henson Company and Universal Pictures to give it a proper nationwide re-release."

The Muppet Movie sees Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, his chicken Camilla, Scooter, and Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem head out on a road trip to Hollywood to chase their dreams of fame and fortune. However, this is a Muppets adventure so you can be sure that there will be plenty of hijinks and shenanigans in the process as well as Kermit's iconic rendition of the film's theme song, "The Rainbow Connection".

Originally released in 1979 The Muppet Movie, like the television series The Muppet Show before it, was a huge success. The film, which featured appearances by numerous stars including Charles Durning, Dom DeLuise, James Coburn, Madeline Kahn, Carol Kane, Elliot Gould, Bob Hope, Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, Mel Brooks, Cloris Leachman, and Orson Welles, eve received an Oscar nomination for Best Song with "The Rainbow Connection". The Muppet Movie was followed by The Great Muppet Caper in 1981, The Muppets Take Manhattan in 1984, The Muppet Christmas Carol in 1992, Muppet Treasure Island in 1996, Muppets from Space in 1999, The Muppets in 2011, and Muppets Most Wanted in 2014 in addition to several television and direct-to-video film offerings.

While there don't appear to be any movie offerings planned for The Muppets currently, that doesn't mean that we won't be getting to see more of the beloved characters -- other than this 40th anniversary release -- soon. A report back in February noted that a Muppets reboot series from actor Josh Gad along with Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis was in development for Disney+, though the project has yet to be confirmed.

Will you be going to see The Muppet Movie for its 40th anniversary return in July? Let us know in the comments below.