Paul Reubens is one hell of a character actor, but that fact tends to get overshadowed by his greatest creation: Pee-Wee Herman. He had one of the funniest death scenes ever in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was terrific in the underrated Mystery Men, and got some long overdue respect for his role as the hairdresser/coke trafficker in Blow. He's been appearing in a lot of television these days, he was insanely hilarious as the inbred prince on a recent episode of 30 Rock -- "It feels good to laugh!" -- and the only remotely entertaining thing about this past season of Dirt, a show that certainly lived up to its name. NBC recently signed him to star in Area 57, a buzzed-about sitcom about "a passive-aggressive alien being watched over by a bunch of government employees" (Sounds like ALF, right?) The guy's pretty hot right now.

But what of Pee-Wee? There's been a lot of talk lately about the return of Pee-Wee, in not one but two major motion pictures. Reubens has stated that he would like to do one first that would be more for kids, and another darker film that would be more for adults. Imdb has Pee Wee's Playhouse: The Movie (the one for kids) listed for a 2007 release, but it doesn't seem like that is going to be the case. At a recent convention, Pee-Wee stated that another Pee-Wee movie is only in "pre-pre-pre-production," and that he is nearing a deal to secure financing for the film. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is one of my favorite movies. I grew up on it, so it came as a huge shock to learn that Reubens is 54 years old! I guess watching someone play a grown-up kid for so long makes you forget the grown-up in there. The guy still looks great, but I do hope he gets these movies together before it just becomes ridiculous. Reubens has not appeared in full Pee-wee voice and regalia in 15 years. I say it's time!

Forget that stupid porno theater incident that Paul Reubens was involved in (because, really, who cares?) and think back to the first time you saw Pee-wee's Big Adventure. You may have forgotten all about it, but I bet you thought the flick was really wacky and amusing the first time around. I still watch it about once a year, and I still think it's one of Tim Burton's most completely entertaining films. Plus I love Large Marge.

So for fans like me who loved Pee-wee's Big Adventure (and kinda enjoyed Big Top Pee-wee) the question has stayed the same for about two decades: Will there ever be another Pee Wee Herman movie? Or has the character's shelf life long since expired? Mr. Reubens has had dual aspirations for quite some time now: 1. He'd like to do a relatively "grown-up" version of the iconic character's misadventures, and 2. He'd like to do another family-friendly flick, which would probably be a safer bet, financially. (Or would it?)

In a recent interview with The San Francisco Chronicle, Mr. Reubens seemed most interested in returning to the silver screen via the material that's proving so popular on Comedy Central reruns these days. But isn't the 55-year-old a little too ... aged to play such a youthfully silly character? Says P.R.: "I think there's a good chance that the next Pee-wee movie, we'll all look younger than we did originally." That'd probably take a CGI budget bigger than a Pee-wee Herman movie would warrant, but heck, I like that the guy's still trying to mount a PWH comeback. I know I'd buy a ticket.

[Via Defamer]