Movies
RUMOR CONTROL: Tim Burton Secretly Developing ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ Sequel?
UPDATE: Derek Frey, producer and executive at Tim Burton Productions, has told The Playlist there is “no truth to the rumor” and expressed gratitude for squashing the rumor quickly. An unnamed source over at Dread Central claims to have spoken directly with Paul “Pee Wee Herman” Reubens regarding his forthcoming East Coast stage show. When asked if Reubens would ever work again with director Tim Burton – who directed Pee Wee’s Big Adventure – he revealed that Burton is (finally) secretly working on a sequel to his stop-motion masterpiece The Nightmare Before Christmas! A sequel has been long rumored, and to be frank, it’s absolutely shocking (and appalling) to me that one has yet to go into production. Disney is all about merchandising – and Nightmare Before Christmas has more merch than any fan can even digest. And who knows, maybe a sequel could inspire Disney to develop a theme park attraction that’s not just a season revamp of “The Haunted Mansion”?
Movies
R-Rated ‘The X-Files: I Want to Believe’ Director’s Cut Gets New Title and Streaming Premiere Date
After a slight delay, Disney has finally announced a new streaming date for the R-Rated director’s cut of The X-Files: I Want to Believe. According to Gizmodo, it’ll also come with a new title.
The X-Files: I Want to Believe Vrach Frankenshteyn begins streaming on Hulu on August 14.
The new cut was first teased in an interview with director Chris Carter on the Fail Better With David Duchovny podcast from last year, where he teased a much scarier movie he intended.
“Now I have a chance to go back and make the scary movie that I always intended to make,” Carter explained last year. “It’s not just doing a Director’s Cut to do a Director’s Cut. It’s really kind of bringing to life something that for me was on the page and never got to the screen.“
The director’s cut of the film was initially set to arrive on Disney+ in June, but quietly disappeared from the schedule without a word. Polygon reported the delay was “due to some last-minute adjustments being made to the film.”
The release’s new “Vrach Frankenshteyn” title certainly suggests those adjustments have been made, likely referring to a Frankensteining of bonus footage.
In the film, Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) have been out of the FBI for several years, with Mulder living in isolation and Scully having become a doctor at a Catholic hospital, where she has formed a bond with a critically ill child patient.
When an FBI agent is mysteriously kidnapped, and a former Catholic priest who has been convicted of pedophilia claims to be experiencing psychic visions of the endangered agent, Scully is asked to bring Mulder back to the bureau to consult on the case because of his work with psychics.
The brand new R-rated cut will “faithfully restore the filmmaker’s original vision.”
Look for it on Hulu next month.