The early version of the cartoon sailor is now in public domain, and he's already the star of a slasher movie.

Last year's Public Domain Day was a big deal because it included the first-ever iteration of Disney's brand-defining Mickey Mouse ... like Tintin, Popeye (quick, somebody call Genndy Tartakovsky ...

The easy thing to do with Popeye is have him kill a bunch of teenagers. That's what a few filmmakers did with Mickey Mouse last year, when the first version of Walt Disney's moneymaking rodent ...