The latest small-screen adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary appears to be heading in a new direction–telling the backstory of the 1983 horror best-seller.
Along those lines, the new Pet Sematary–from Paramount Players–this week inked several actors with an eye toward a prequel scenario, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
The film–set to start shooting next month–added Jack Mulhern, Forrest Goodluck, Natalie Alyn Lind and Isabella Star LaBlanc to the previously announced Jackson White–who will play a young Jud Crandall in the movie. And that casting is the biggest tipoff to the film being a prequel.
Plot details have yet to be announced, but since the Crandall character is an elderly neighbor of the Creed family in King’s novel–as well as the 1989 big-screen adaptation and the 2019 reboot–a younger Crandall in the new film would hint at a prequel.
In fact, one of the producers, Lorenzo di Bonaventura–while discussing an idea he had for a Pet Sematary film–said, “if there’s anything here, there’s a prequel. I think if you look at the book, we didn’t cover all the stuff that happens before the Creed family moves in.”
The film–which will air exclusively on Paramount+–is helmed by first-time director Lindsey Beer, who also wrote the screenplay from a draft by Jeff Buhler (who penned the 2019 remake). Mark Vahradian and di Bonaventura are on board as producers.
The 1989 Pet Sematary film–scripted by King himself and directed by Mary Lambert–grossed $57.5 million on an $11.5-million budget, despite mixed reviews. The 2019 reboot enjoyed an even better box office, pulling down $113 million on a budget of $21 million.
With no release date yet announced, keep reading Horror News Network for the latest on this Pet Sematary prequel.
