Nearly 30 years after Full Moon’s Puppet Master burst onto the scene, the franchise is getting a fresh new reboot in the form of Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich. It’ll be the first film in the series not directly made by Full Moon, and with S. Craig Zahler (Bone Tomahawk) penning the script, we can expect that it’ll quite possibly be the franchise’s best movie to date.

With filming set to begin later this month, we’ve nabbed some exclusive goodies today that we think you’re going to dig. For starters, Zahler himself hand-picked Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund (Wither, We Are Monsters) to direct the new film, and they’re bringing frequent partner David Liljeblad along with them. In addition, we can exclusively report that veteran actor Udo Kier (Suspiria, Blade) will be playing Toulon, the sophisticated villain in Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich. Toulon, the titular puppet master, is a French-speaking Nazi.

Zahler’s reboot has been called a “deceptively intelligent & substantial new take.”

He told us:

“I am a big fan of micro budget horror, and was first exposed to the work Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund years ago when I saw their movie, MADNESS.  It was immediately clear to me that these directors were inclined toward subtler performances than were any of their peers, and that they had a canny understanding of how to craft grim and tense suspense sequences.  Their talents are displayed throughout their filmography, and I am confident that with more resources and some meaty material they will flourish.”

Added Laguna and Wiklund:

“Finally someone saw the potential in us, three horror loving Swedes that have been doing this sort of thing for almost ten years. After reading the script that Zahler wrote, we thought it was a great start for a new take on an old fan favorite, putting it in the modern era of horror movies.”

“To have the chance to reboot a classic from the late ’80s, a time where puppets and other creatures were sky high in popularity, is a dream come true. We grew up watching them on VHS, and here we are, planning a kill scene with Blade. This feels as surreal as it is fun to do.”

In Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich…

A recently divorced young man discovers a mint condition Blade doll in his deceased brother’s closet and plans to sell the toy at a convention in Texas celebrating the 30th anniversary of the infamous Toulon Murders. All hell breaks loose at The Brass Buckle during the auction when a strange force animates all of the various puppets throughout the convention as they go on a bloody killing spree.

Dallas Sonnier and Amanda Presmyk are producing for Cinestate, along with Jack Heller of Assemble Media. Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian of Di Bonaventura Pictures are also producers on the project. Charles Band (the original franchise producer) is executive producing, as are Wayne Godfrey & Robert Jones of The Fyzz Facility, Jonathan Feuer of Flexibon Films, Red Sanders of Red Productions, Will Evans of Cinestate, Adam Donaghey (A Ghost Story), Johnathan Brownlee (Three Days in August) and Rick Prince (LWA: All Saints’ Eve).