TriStar Pictures has named a director with an impressive horror and fantasy resume to guide its long-awaited sequel to the cult classic Labyrinth.
Scott Derrickson–who directed the first Dr. Strange film and who was in line to lead the Marvel sequel before leaving over reported creative differences–will sit in the director’s chair for the sequel to the 1986 Jim Henson movie, according to Deadline.
Derrickson’s horror pedigree also includes The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) and Sinister (2012).
The sequel’s screenplay will be penned by Maggie Levin, who recently wrote and directed My Valentine, a chapter of Hulu and Blumhouse’s horror anthology Into The Dark.
Lisa Henson of The Jim Henson Company will produce the film, with Brian Henson, C. Robert Cargill and Derrickson acting as executive producers.
Blanca Lisa, Vice President of Feature Film Production for The Jim Henson Company, and Caellum Allan and Nicole Brown with TriStar will oversee the project.
The original Labyrinth–which became a movie star vehicle for the late rock icon David Bowie–disappointed at the box office, but went on to cult status in the intervening decades, even spawning comic books and video games.
That movie–directed by Jim Henson and with George Lucas as executive producer–followed a 16-year-old girl (a then-upcoming Jennifer Connelly) who navigated an incredible maze in an attempt to rescue her infant brother from the clutches of the goblin king Jareth (Bowie). Most of the film’s other major characters were played by Henson puppets.
A sequel had been bandied about since 2016–with screenwriter Nicole Perlman and director Fede Alvarez slated to be on board–but it never panned out.
Keep reading Horror News Network for any updates on the Labyrinth sequel.
