Land of the Lost movie poster

Production of the film began in March 2008. It was originally scheduled to be released on July 17, 2009 but the release date was pushed forward to June 5, 2009. The film follows “a disgraced paleontologist, his assistant, and a macho tour guide who find themselves in a strange, alternate world inhabited by dinosaurs, monkey people and reptilian Sleestaks.

Development of a feature film based on the show has been in talks at various studios since 1995. In 2002, Sony Pictures was working on a movie version, following the 2000 reversion to the Kroffts of adaptation rights previously bought by Disney as early as 1995. In April 2005, Universal Pictures acquired the adaptation rights and attached director Adam McKay and actor Will Ferrell, who had previously collaborated on Anchorman (2004), to the project. In May 2007, director Robert Rodriguez met with Universal to potentially direct the film adaptation of Land of the Lost. Rodriguez had also entered talks with Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. to film a live action film adaptation of The Jetsons. The director was uncertain which project he would pursue next, though the latest script draft for The Jetsons by Adam Goldberg was further along in development. In September 2007, director Brad Silberling was announced to be attached to direct the film adaptation, with Ferrell starring. The project was slated to begin production in March 2008 after reducing its budget from $125 million to $100 million, and wrapped up shooting at Universal Studios Hollywood. The first trailer was shown during Super Bowl XLIII.