Mike Myers is the most recent name to be attached to the movie project The Secret Life of Water Mitty, a re-make of a 1947 movie of the same name. This time, the film has been picked up by 20th Century Fox. Over the years, big names like Jim Carrey, Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson, and Whoopi Goldberg (as “Martha Mitty” in a female-oriented version of the original) have all been attached to the project, one that’s been a long time in the making. This current incarnation will be written by Jay Kogen (Frasier, Malcolm in the Middle) and produced by Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. In the past, directors Steven Spielberg and Chuck Russell were said to be attached to the project at different times.

Now, it’s time for Mike Myers to take the leading role as Walter Mitty. The last time the project came up was 2005, with Owen Wilson set to take the lead, and Paramount scheduled to lend their studios for production. The movie was put on hold, however, when the studio failed to cast a female lead for the film. The film has been given the green light again…will this finally be Mitty’s year?

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty focuses on a quintessential “loser,” a man whose entire life seems to be ran by those around him. His only escape is his own imagination, wherein he creates vivid worlds where he can be a hero. Myers will no doubt shine in the role, provided the movie gets off the ground this time. Currently the star of the number one movie in the land (Shrek 3), Myers isn’t slowing down any time soon. He has finished working on The Love Guru, a comedy he co-wrote based on a character of his own invention. The movie will start in August, but by then Myers might be busy with the Paramount film How to Survive a Robot Uprising. 

In the 1947 version of the film, Danny Kaye starred as Mitty, with Virginia Mayo as Rosalind van Horn and scary screen legend Boris Karloff as Dr. Hugo Hollingshed. Loosely based on the short story of the same name, the film focused on comic book writer Walter Mitty, a man more involved in daydreams than those around him. In this film version, Mitty eventually gets the chance to play the hero for real.