Seth Rogen Talks Figment Film for First Time in 4 Years

Old school EPCOT Center fans might continue our winning streak. Hot on the heels of the D23 Expo bombshell announcement that the iconic Walt Disney World ride is being reimagined, comes a tease by Seth Rogen that maybe, just maybe, the Figment feature film is not dead. Here’s the latest on the movie, via the first update in nearly 4 years.

This comes less than one month after the Parks Panel at the Disney Experiences Showcase concluding with host Neil Patrick Harris, dressed as Dreamfinder, demanding that Parks Chair Thomas Mazloum fulfill his promise to restore his favorite Animatronic character of all-time to his former glory (see Dreamfinder & Figment Reunited in Ride Reimagining of Journey Into Imagination at EPCOT).

Mazloum was quick to oblige. “YES! We are taking a new Journey Into Imagination at EPCOT with Figment and Dreamfinder!” he told the cheering crowd. “I’m so happy to share this news tonight. We know how important this is to you. We’ve heard you, and this is one more way we’re putting you in the center of everything we do.” Now, it seems that Disney and Rogen also might oblige with the Figment feature film.

For the first time since the project was revealed in 2022, Seth Rogen gave an update on his long-delayed movie adaptation of the fan-favorite Walt Disney World character. During a press junket at the Toronto International Film Festival, a member of the media asked Rogen for an update on the Figment movie that he was (per the interviewer) going to star in.

“I wasn’t going to star in it–we were producing it,” Rogen explained while barely holding back laughter. When asked where development and production stands on the long-awaited Figment film, Rogen again laughed, “Let me get back to you on that. Let me kick the tires on that one!”

The interviewer followed up by asking what Rogen could share about the version of Figment he has planned for the film, which he ends with yet another laugh (it’s sort of Rogen’s whole thing) and saying “I can’t tell you anything!”

Obviously, this is a fairly non-committal answer. Rogen is not confirming that the movie is moving forward, or really anything at all, for that matter. However, he also didn’t come out and say that the project is dead, which is likely what he would’ve said were it cancelled completely.

Instead, his evasive answer suggests the project is still stuck in development purgatory. It’s basically the so you’re telling me there’s a chance of responses. After 4 years of radio silence, I’ll take it!

Perhaps this is wishful thinking on my part, or trying to connect dots that aren’t there, but it would seem that the prospects of this project would rise following the recent D23 announcement of Figment and Dreamfinder being reunited in a reimagined Journey Into Imagination attraction. Disney is all about synergy, and wanting to turn the characters into a bona fide brand with appeal beyond the parks could explain both the film and redone ride getting greenlit.

Here are Seth Rogen’s full comments about the Figment feature film:

 

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The Figment feature was first revealed in September 2022, and Seth Rogen has not spoken about it since.

The movie was to be produced by Point Grey, an independent film and television production company that Rogen co-founded with his producing partner, Evan Goldberg. Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit, who previously worked on Pokémon Detective Pikachu, are set to write the Figment film (which both confirmed via social media).

Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and James Weaver have released various TV and film projects under their Point Grey banner. These include Hulu’s Pam & Tommy, Amazon’s The Boys and The Boys Presents: Diabolical. On the feature front, they’ve done 50/50, The Neighbors, The Night Before, Blockers, Long Shot, This Is The End, The Interview, The Disaster Artist, and An American Pickle.

Earlier this year, new CEO Josh D’Amaro was asked a shareholder question asked whether Disney would make a new Figment feature film. That followed up a similar question that former CEO Bob Iger was asked the previous year.

D’Amaro embraced the inquiry, which has become a tradition of the annual meeting of shareholders. “I love the fact that there’s so much adoration for Figment,” D’Amaro shared. He continued by acknowledging that Figment “has clearly stood the test of time as a fan favorite and continues to spark creativity and imagination across generations.”

He then pivoted to the recent animated short “How Not to Draw with Figment,” which was narrated by Neil Patrick Harris and has been hugely popular since its release. D’Amaro pointed to this as a sign that Figment remains an active character in Disney’s creative pipeline.

He concluded by saying that he had nothing to announce at that time, but that the Walt Disney Company is “always exploring new ways for guests to engage with Figment and other characters that fans love.” As noted above, the Journey Into Imagination ride reimagining has since been announced. But perhaps that isn’t the only Figment thing in the pipeline.

Our hope is and has been that Rogen’s ongoing relationship with Disney results in the Figment feature film getting greenlit and moving forward. Maybe Disney already has decided to push forward with that after the surprise success of The Muppet Show revival by the duo.

After Rogen’s pitch-perfect handling of the Muppets, with the revival being at once a nostalgic love letter and timeless reboot, we’re further convinced he’d be a great choice to helm a Figment feature. The Muppet Show is the best thing Disney has done with the Muppets in decades.

The most remarkable thing about the 2026 revival of The Muppet Show is that it could just as easily be an episode from 1976 through 1981, during the original series’ run. Save for the songs and celebrities, there are no identifiers in the show that it’s a circa 2026 production. If this is a sneak peek of the kind of timeless treatment Rogen could give Figment, sign me up!

Although perhaps The Muppet Show revival is not the best example. At least, not from a commercial perspective.

From creative and critical perspectives, The Muppet Show has been a triumph. The Disney+ special snagged six 2026 Emmy Award nominations and won four of them. It earned the most trophies of any program across the Disney portfolio, accounting for more than a quarter of the company’s overall haul as of the first two ceremonies last weekend. With no Disney series among the top contenders in the categories awarded on main telecast, it’s safe to say that The Muppet Show will end up being the top Emmy winner for Disney in 2026.

Despite this, The Muppet Show revival, which was to serve as a backdoor pilot, has not been picked up for a full series order. According to Deadline, there have been difficulties “cracking a premise” for an ongoing Muppet Show series that Disney, The Muppets Studio and Point Grey will all be on board for. (Quick aside: ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! “The Muppet Show” is the premise. They’ve already cracked the code…and won four awards with it!)

This seems at least tangentially relevant to the fate of the Figment feature film. If Disney and Rogen cannot even agree on what to do with the hugely successful Muppet Show, and manage to squander the sure thing, there’s probably little to no chance that they partner for the Figment film. But if they somehow, against all odds manage to ‘crack the code’ on The Muppet Show, that in turn increases the odds of a collaboration on Figment. If I were Disney, I would want to be in the Seth Rogen business given all of his recent successes, but what do I know!

Whenever Seth Rogen comes up as being attached to a Disney project, fans inevitably recoil in horror. “I’d rather this not be done at all than have him attached” was more or less the consensus in response to the Figment feature film news. It was a similar story with the Muppets.

This is understandable. Or rather, it was until The Muppets Show. That should’ve forever quieted any criticism of Seth Rogen. Yet, he somehow still has a sticky reputation as a lazy stoner who makes juvenile humor. This image made sense a decade ago when he was producing shock value films and crude humor. But as we’ve been saying, that reputation hasn’t matched reality in over a decade.

The output of Rogen and Point Grey in the last few years has grown tremendously and expanded in range. Rogen is one of the hardest working people in Hollywood, capable of making quality shows for a range of audiences. He’s similar to Adam Sandler, who similarly vacillates from one extreme to another, making both the worst paycheck movies you’ve ever seen to award winners. (Beyond The Muppet Show, I’d direct your attention to The Studio, which was the most awarded show of last year’s Emmys.)

I feel vindicated in my years-long defense of Rogen after watching The Muppet Show. His team threaded the needle of crafting the perfect love letter to the original series, rediscovering the Muppets’ voice instead of projecting his own, and using the special for launching something that’s both fresh and a love letter to the classic show.

If there were any doubts about Seth Rogen’s involvement with the Figment feature film, actually watching The Muppet Show revival special should quiet the criticism. If Rogen could do for Figment what he did for the Muppets, the film would be a fan-favorite and cement the character not just as theme parks IP, but as Disney IP.

Here’s hoping that we’re standing on the precipice of a bona fide Figment-aissance, and we look back at this moment decades from now when Figment and Dreamfinder have the most popular attraction in EPCOT, are household names, and part of the pop culture zeitgeist for reasons totally unrelated to theme parks.

Maybe the dynamic duo will even become members of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, with Figment and Dreamfinder derided down the road by some fans being as “overexposed.”

Nothing would make me happier, because that means the Journey Into Imagination ride reimagining will have been a smash success and this Seth Rogen film will have been made. Here’s hoping that’s what the next decade holds, but for now, we’ll keep you posted about any actual updates on the Figment film.

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Your Thoughts

Surprised to hear about this movie again after 4 years of radio silence? What do you expect from a Figment film by Seth Rogen? What would you like to see happen with Journey into Imagination in an ideal world? Are you excited? Skeptical? A little of both? Any other thoughts, insights, etc? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!