Muppets Fans Demand a Reboot After Hilarious Super Bowl Ad

Booking.com’s Super Bowl ad didn’t make the air until late into the fourth quarter of the big game, but it quickly proved to be a hit. Featuring The Muppets, the ad has made a firestorm online, premiering for fans to watch a week ahead of the Super Bowl and clearing over 88 million views ahead of time. Now that the ad has premiered though, and it’s pretty hilarious, it’s made Muppets fans realized that they sorely missed these tiny felt performers and their many antics. Anchored by Kermit, Ms Piggy, Animal, Gonzo, and Statler & Waldorf, you can watch it yourself below.

“Bringing the Muppets back for a Superbowl commercial was genius,” wrote one fan on X (formerly Twitter). “Thanks to Booking.com for giving me a chuckle.” Others agreed, with one user posting: “Any commercial with the Muppets in it, is a winner #SuperBowlLIX”

“My soul is happy. The Chiefs are going to lose and I just saw an ad with the #Muppets,” added another.

“The Muppets doing a Super Bowl ad and yet STILL no news of a new Muppets film in the works where have we gone wrong as a nation,” penned one concerned fan.

Though many were thrilled by the commercial, some fans were sad by the realization that the ad gave them. After seeing the ad, one user wrote: “The Smurfs are getting another movie while The Muppets are relegated to Booking.com commercials.”

In truth, that’s what has become of The Muppets of late. Disney officially bought The Muppet property in 2004, a deal which did not include properties like Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock. Since purchasing The Muppets, Disney has only utilized the characters for a handful of projects including including a TV film (The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz in 2005), a self-titled TV series that only ran for 16 episodes in 2015, a streaming TV series (The Muppets Mayhem) that only ran for 10 episodes in 2023, plus a Halloween special (Muppets Haunted Mansion in 2021).

Since coming under Disney’s ownership, The Muppets have only had two new feature films. 2011’s The Muppets, a reboot starring Jason Segel and Amy Adams, appeared to signal a new era for the characters after it grossed over $160 million at the global box office, making it the highest-grossing Muppets movie of all-time, and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was followed in 2014 by Muppets Most Wanted, which brought in over $79 million at the global box office, a still impressive haul for the Muppets but one that could only barely overcome massive production costs.

As of this writing it’s unclear where The Muppets will go next, but an appearance in a major Super Bowl commercial could be the thing that will lead to a new revival of the brand.