“Abbott Elementary” star Quinta Brunson is set to give one of animation’s most enduring characters her first true live-action feature film treatment, as the Emmy winner will develop and star in a Betty Boop movie through her production company Fifth Chance Productions.
The project, confirmed Wednesday, May 20, is being developed in partnership with Mark Fleischer, grandson of Betty Boop creator Max Fleischer. Rather than a straightforward retelling, the film “will trace the origin and evolution of Betty Boop through the perspective of her creator,” examining the relationship between artist and creation as Max Fleischer navigates the pressures of building one of animation’s earliest icons.
Betty Boop is one of our nation’s most beloved cartoon characters, yet somehow still remains pleasantly niche,” Brunson, 36, said in a statement. “She has had a quiet but undeniable impact on culture for nearly a century.”
That impact has been expressed across nearly every entertainment medium. Betty Boop first appeared in “Dizzy Dishes” in 1930, designed by Grim Natwick at the request of Max Fleischer. She first debuted in live-action sequences portrayed by Mae Questel in “Musical Justice” in 1931, and later by Bonnie Poe in the 1933 film Hollywood on Parade No. A-8. Questel provided the voice of Betty from 1931 until 1938, the longest run of any actress doing so, and even returned nearly 50 years later in Disney’s “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” in 1988. Most recently, the character came to life on Broadway when Jasmine Amy Rogers starred in Boop! The Musical, which opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on April 5, 2025. Rogers won the 2025 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical for her portrayal.
Now Brunson is ready to take the baton. After she and Fifth Chance’s head of creative affairs, Erin Wehrenberg, met with Fleischer “and learned more about his grandfather’s creation of Betty,” Brunson said, “I realized there was a much deeper story to tell. One that could be explored in a way that feels refreshing, subversive, and timeless, much like Betty herself.”
Fleischer appeared equally enthused, saying he was “breathtaken” when the actress-filmmaker approached him with the “unique concept,” adding, “Quinta so embodies Betty’s love of life, intelligence, humor, sassiness and compassion that the relationship between her as Betty and Max burst into life at its mere mention.
As of January 1, 2026, Betty Boop entered the public domain, opening the door for exactly the kind of bold, creator-driven reimagining Brunson has in mind.
BETTY WAS ACTUALLY A BLACK WOMAN, JUST LIKE A LOT OF BLACK CHARACTERS WAS STOLEN !!!!