As if there wasn't enough hype about Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron, here comes Pee-wee Herman.
Jimmy Fallon had Paul Reubens, 62, reprise his iconic '80s character on The Tonight Show in an segment that aired on Wednesday's episode, for a very important mission—redubbing part of the trailer of the anticipated 2015 superhero film, the sequel to the 2012 movie The Avengers. Fallon has done impressions of Pee-wee in the past for his own mock movie dubs on his former talk show, Late Night.
Thanks to Reubens, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) have never sounded zanier...and way to make Ultron (James Spader) FAR less menacing!
Reubens debuted his cartoonish, red bow tie-wearing alter ego, known for his high-pitched laugh, in the 1980s, playing him in the 1985 movie Pee-wee's Big Adventure, its 1988 sequel Big Top Pee-wee and the programs The Pee-wee Herman Show and the children's series Pee-wee's Playhouse, which was recently released on Blu-ray.
The latter show was canceled in 1991 after Reubens was arrested for indecent exposure at an adult movie theater. He pleaded no contest to the charge, receiving a fine and community service. Meanwhile, Pee-wee the character went into retirement for about 18 years.
Despite his legal turmoil, he continued acting and doing voiceover work, portraying characters in movies such as Flight of the Navigator and The Nightmare Before Christmas and in several animated TV shows. He also had a recurring role on Murphy Brown and guest parts on shows such as Ally McBeal and 30 Rock.
Pee-wee resurfaced in 2009, making guest appearances over the next few of years, mainly on late-night television. In 2010, he reprised the role for an Broadway show, which was filmed for an HBO special. That year, it was reported Judd Apatow planned to produce a new Pee-wee movie, which would mark the first time the character would be seen on the big screen in about 30 years.
"Let's face it, the world needs more Pee-wee Herman," Apatow had told Variety.
"It's a week away, I think, from being announced," Reubens said on The Tonight Show. "Judd Apatow is producing it, still."
"We've hired a director," he added. "We're going to start [production] in February."