Is Broadway ready for Judd Apatow?

As the preeminent chronicler of male arrested development in films like "Knocked Up" and "Funny People," the comedy powerhouse is now setting his sights on the stage.

"I am excited to try a new medium and to interact with the audience more than I get to when I make a movie," Apatow told TheWrap.

Getting the project finished may take a while, however.

"It could take me a decade to write or the summer," he said, noting that "I really can't say more than that."

Apatow first confessed his ambitions in an interview with GQ magazine [3]this month while promoting "This Is 40," his latest look at marital discord.

"I have a great idea. Maybe like the best idea I've ever had," Apatow told the magazine. "It requires me to create characters and situations that have absolutely nothing to do with my experience."

If the prospect of Apatow hitting the Great White Way raises eyebrows among the matinee-set, it's worth remembering that provocateurs like "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were able to spin their envelope-pushing jokes into the Tony-winning smash, "The Book of Mormon."

Although tight-lipped about what the play will concern, Apatow did reveal to GQ that "it's about victims of the criminal-justice system and the challenges they face."

So much for hoping it would be a musical version of "The 40-Year-Old Virgin."