Up until AMC saved “The Walking Dead” from development hell, it was nearly impossible for anyone to get a comic-themed genre show greenlit. Now, thanks to the big risk-takers, we’re living in the Golden Age of horror-themed content that ranges from “Preacher” to the forthcoming “The Boys”. With my wishlist nearly fulfilled, there’s one stray cat that needs to be wrangled in – an adaptation of Joe Hill‘s “Locke & Key”.
The adaptation has been going through the ringer for years and was just passed on by Hulu (March 27), which feels outrageously idiotic considering it hails from It director Andy Muschetti. Thankfully, Netflix is here to save the day (as usual), with The Hashtag Show reporting that the streaming service has saved the series from once again entering development hell. Although a Netflix rep tells them that a deal is not yet finalized, the site has been accurately breaking some big scoops as of late. IDW tells them that they “…hope to have an announcement…in the near future.”
On the contrary, co-creator and Eisner Award winner Gabriel Rodríguez previously tweeted and then deleted the following: “Rumor. Nada official,” with reference to the Locke & Key pilot’s Netflix pickup. Note that he’s just saying that nothing is official, which isn’t exactly a denial. For now, let’s use the wait and see approach while keeping all our fingers and toes crossed.
“Locke & Key” is an adaptation of the IDW comic by Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez. Written by Hill and directed by Muschietti, “Locke & Key” revolves around three siblings who, after the gruesome murder of their father, move to their ancestral home in Maine with their mother Nina (Frances O’Connor) 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.
Actor Owen Teague (IT, “Bloodline”) was to play the role of Sam Lesser, a violent and deeply troubled adolescent who kills his own father and then goes on the Locke house and shoots the Locke kids father to death, in addition to battering their mother. Teague was the third actor from It to sign on to the horror-fantasy drama, joining Jackson Robert Scott and Megan Charpentier. The pilot also stars Jack Mulhern and Danny Glover.
