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‘IT’ Director Andy Muschietti Takes Over Hulu’s “Locke & Key” Pilot
We were excited to learn back in April that Hulu was going forward with a small screen adaptation of “Locke & Key,“ the IDW comic by Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez. Hulu gave a pilot order for the one-hour horror/ fantasy drama, with Scott Derrickson (Sinister, Doctor Strange) attached to direct.
But Deadline reports today that Derrickson is out, citing a scheduling conflict with his work on TNT’s “Snowpiercer.” Taking Derrickson’s place will be Andy Muschietti, the man behind Mama and this year’s new adaptation of Stephen King’s IT.
Yes, after adapting Stephen King, Muschietti is now adapting King’s son!
The project revolves around three siblings who, after the gruesome murder of their father, move to their ancestral home in Maine only to find the house has magical keys that give them a vast array of powers and abilities. Little do they know, a devious demon also wants the keys, and will stop at nothing to attain them.
“Locke & Key” comes from Hill, Carlton Cuse (“Bates Motel,” “The Strain”) and IDW Entertainment. Cuse, who serves as showrunner, developed the series with Hill, who wrote the script on spec.
Cuse is executive producing with Hill; Muschietti’s sister, Barbara Muschietti; Lindsey Springer of Carlton Cuse Prods.; Ted Adams, CEO of IDW Media Holdings; and David Ozer, President of IDW Entertainment.
Mark Romanek previously directed the pilot episode of a previous iteration of a “Locke & Key” TV series. It was screened at SDCC 2011 and never seen again.
The best part about engaging with collaborative genre fiction on the internet is that anyone can get in on the action, with worldwide accessibility often resulting in absurd story beats that wouldn’t be possible if any single person was responsible for the entire narrative. And while Kane Parsons’ Backrooms film is definitely the young filmmaker’s own unique take on the infamous creepypasta, it’s fun to see other creators join the Backrooms sandbox now that the big screen adaptation is getting ready for a record-shattering opening weekend.
As if cleverly timed releases like Puppet Combo’s The Backrooms game weren’t enough (not to mention that Scary Movie poster poking fun at Parsons’ flick), McDonald’s official social media accounts have now released an analog horror video of their own celebrating the liminal terrors of the McRooms – complete with a familiar purple surprise at the end of the footage.
While it’s funny enough to see the world’s most recognizable Fast Food giant engage with internet-borne Found Footage thrills seemingly out of the blue, the video is actually referencing a long-running gag among the Backrooms fandom where creators jokingly talk about there being a fully functional McDonald’s restaurant hidden somewhere in level 0 of the infamous liminal labyrinth.
Now, would it be too much to hope for a moist-carpet-flavored McShake to tie in with the film?
Backrooms is now playing only in theaters from A24.
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