The Sailor Man is about to go Rogue!

In 2025, Popeye the Sailor Man officially goes into public domain. And as with Winnie-the-Pooh in 2023 and Steamboat Willie in 2024, you know the inevitable is happening. And this week, there were announcements popping up of not one, not two, but three horror films to be released once the character’s public domain is in effect. So let’s break down the three upcoming Popeye horror films!

We’ll first look at the simply named Popeye, which is being made by ITN Studios, the studio behind the Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey films and the Twisted Childhood Universe, created by Rhys Frake-Waterfield and Scott Chambers. However, despite the studio working on this particular film, it will NOT be a part of the TCU, but rather a standalone film.

This one is set to turn Popeye into a Jason Voorhees-style killer as he victimizes a group of counselors who are setting up to open a new summer camp. This one sounds like a “what if Popeye was in Friday the 13th” scenario. William Stead is directing the film with Rene August set to produce with Steven Murphy (above) cast as Popeye. For more official images, check out Bloody Disgusting‘s article on the film.

Next, we look at Shiver Me Timbers (named after one of Popeye’s signature lines), a film set in 1986 Northern California where Olive Oyl, her brother Castor, and a group of friends go on a camping trip to see Halley’s Comet. However, a meteor fragment turns Popeye into a menacing killer as he targets Olive and the gang.

Paul Stephen Mann wrote and directed the film with Tony Greer playing Popeye.

The third film was announced yesterday via a Red-Band trailer in the form of Popeye the Slayer Man. In this one, a group of filmmakers visit an abandoned spinach canning facility to document the legend of the “Sailor Man”, who is believed to haunt the place and they soon learn the legend is true. Robert Michael Ryan directed the film from a script by John Doohan with Jason Stephens playing the Sailor Man.

These three horror films join an upcoming slate of more horror films revolving around your childhood characters with four more Steamboat Willie horror films set for release (Screamboat, The Mouse Trap II, Mouse of Horrors, and Mouse Boat Massacre) and the Twisted Childhood Universe’s latest (Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, Bambi: The Reckoning, Pinocchio Unstrung, and Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble).

It’s the stuff of nightmares via your favorite childhood heroes…and if you love horror, then check these out when they come in 2025!