Despite comments last fall that he was “destined” to make this Popeye movie (see "Test Video for 'Popeye'"), the director said he had left the project over a difference of opinion. "I was in love with what we were doing, but I think the studio is going through changes and I don’t know if they want to make the Popeye that I want to make. So they’ve got to make a decision," he said in an interview with Moviefone promoting his upcoming Hotel Transylvania 2 feature. "Right now, I'm off that project... It was hard to let Popeye go, but that's the business."
Tartakovsky was referring to major executive staffing changes at Sony Pictures Entertainment in the wake of the Sony hacking attack last November. Sony Pictures Animation said the film is still in active development.