One of Stephen King’s most frightening stories has moved a bit closer to exposing the horrors of its backstory.
Pet Sematary–the 1989 film based on the horror master’s 1983 novel–this week added two more actors with strong genre pedigrees to what fans hope will be a fascinating prequel, as reported by Deadline.
Henry Thomas and Samantha Mathis have now joined the cast, which already included Jackson White, Forrest Goodluck, Jack Mulhern, Natalie Alyn Lind, Isabella Star LaBlanc and Pam Grier.
Thomas, of course, had his breakout role in Steven Spielberg’s 1982 masterpiece E.T. the Extra–Terrestrial, which earned him Golden Globe and Saturn Award nominations. Most recently, the actor has continued his career with roles in Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, as well as the upcoming Midnight Mass.
Mathis recently was seen in Jason Blum’s anthology series Into the Dark and Guillermo del Toro’s The Strain. She will appear next in the Miramax thriller The Georgetown Project opposite Russell Crowe and Sam Worthington.
The Paramount Players Pet Sematary prequel–written and directed by Lindsey Beer (from an initial draft by Jeff Buhler)–is being produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian. The movie will debut exclusively on Paramount+ on a yet-to-be-determined date.
While specific plot details have not been revealed, di Bonaventura has said that “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.” Plus the fact that Jackson White’s character in the film has been described a younger Jud Crandall–a character who is the elderly neighbor of the Creeds in the original story.
The original Pet Sematary–directed by Mary Lambert from King’s screenplay–received mixed reviews, but still earned $57.5 million on an $11.5-million budget and spawned a 2019 reboot that enjoyed an even better box office.
Keep reading Horror News Network for the latest on this prequel to Pet Sematary.
