Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, The 40 Year-Old Virgin), who has developed his own “school” of contemporary screen comedy, is developing an as-yet-untitled Pee-wee Herman feature for Universal.  Pee-wee himself (Paul Reubens) is writing the movie along with Paul Rust (Inglourious Basterds, I Love You Beth Cooper).  Apatow will produce the new Pee-wee film through his Apatow Productions, but he is not slated to direct.

According to Variety, the new film will be a “road picture” starring the “iconic nerd,” which certainly conjures up memories of the delightfully episodic Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, which Tim Burton directed in 1985.  After the success of Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, which was Burton’s first directorial effort, Reubens starred in the innovative Pee-wee’s Playhouse series that ran on Saturday mornings on CBS from 1986-1990.

Reubens’ career came to a screeching halt in 1991 when he was arrested in Florida for indecent exposure, but he has mounted a very successful theatrical revival/revue, The Pee-wee Herman Show, which just finished an extended run in L.A. and is headed to Broadway in October.