Although I’m not a huge Monty Python fan, I am getting the distinct feeling that this is next bit of news could be a pretty big deal. After decades of concentrating on their own solo careers, it appears that England’s most influential comedy troupe will once again come together for a new big screen collaboration. The plan is for Terry Jones (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, The Meaning of Life) to direct a new feature film called Absolutely Anything, described as “a sci-fi farce combining CGI and live action.” Terry Gilliam, John Cleese and Michael Palin have all agreed to be involved, and the producers are currently in talks with Eric Idle as well. If they are successful, the only missing member would be the late Graham Chapman, who died in 1989. Clearly it could never be a true Monty Python film without him, but Jones assures us that “it certainly has that sensibility.”

According to Variety, the movie revolves around a group of aliens who conduct an experiment by bestowing an earthling with the power to do “absolutely anything”, just to see what a mess he will make of things. The Pythons will each voice one of the aliens, while Robin Williams will apparently voice a talking dog named Dennis. The script was written by Terry Jones and Gavin Scott (Small Soldiers), who worked on it together over the past two decades.

The last movie that Jones directed was The Wind in the Willows starring Steve Coogan in 1996, but he was disheartened that Sony gave it such a small release and took a long hiatus from directing as a result. The Monty Python troupe recently worked together on A Liar’s Autobiography, an animated adaptation of Graham Chapman’s memoir, although Eric Idle sat that one out as well. It sounds like they might be counting their eggs before they’ve hatched, but I’m guessing Monty Python fans will still be following the project with great interest. What do you think, will Eric Idle actually sign on, and more importantly, could this actually be good or are the Pythons just too far past their prime?