Minnesota Vikings ‘Purple People Eaters’ documentary in the works

A documentary about the Minnesota Vikings’ famed Purple People Eaters defensive line is in the works.

Per Deadline, production has wrapped on the film, which comes from Winter State Entertainment. Nick Hagen, who directed the Winter State feature Kitty to Cooperstown about Jim Kaat, and Solomon Shields are directing.

The four primary members of the Purple People Eaters, Carl Eller, Gary Larsen, Jim Marshall, and Alan Page, all participated in the film. Vikings legends Jared Allen and Ahmad Rashad were also interviewed.

Here’s a quote from Eller about the doc.

Stated subject Carl Eller: “I am very excited for this documentary about the Purple People Eaters to be shared with the World, so they can see what a special, talented group of guys manned the line. It was my good fortune to have experienced the friendships and camaraderie of these phenomenal men. We are the only remaining living front four from the era of great defensive lines and it will be truly special for the viewer to see what made us the players we were.”

Winter State has had several sports documentaries in the works recently. In addition to Kitty to Cooperstown, the production company has produced ROAF (Willie Roaf), Tommy John: The Bionic Man, Mel Blount: Whatever It Takes, and The Hitman: A Tommy Hearns Story. The John, Blount, and Hearns features were reported over the summer, while the Roaf and Kaat features were reported in the summer of 2022.

It’s a bit surprising that NFL Films isn’t involved with a production about an iconic unit, and that lack of involvement might mean a lack of archival footage in the film. We’ll see what it looks like when the project is released.

[Deadline]