The planned Tales From the Crypt reboot from filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan is reportedly not going forward at TNT.
Bloody Disgusting reports that they’re hearing buget issues have halted development on the series, which was expected to be one of a number of horror shows coming to TNT at the end of 2017. When they reached out to TNT for comment, the network did little to disabuse them of the notion that the show is on hold, although they seemingly rejected the idea that it’s budget-related, and it sounds like from TNT’s point of view the show isn’t dead altogether.
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“The underlying rights to this classic, vintage property are complicated,” a representative for the network told them. “TNT and others have been pursuing a solution for more than a year, with significant progress being made. We look forward to the potential for further active development of this valuable franchise once the clearance process is fully resolved.”
If they can’t move forward with Tales From the Crypt, expected to be the biggest hit of the bunch, it isn’t totally clear whether TNT will still make Time of Death and Creatures, the other series in the planned horror block. There is no solid evidence that they would not, although the Bloody Disgusting article sounded somewhat doubtful.
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“To be part of such a beloved brand like Tales From the Crypt, something I grew up watching, and to also have the chance to push the boundaries of genre television as a whole, is an inspiring opportunity that I can’t wait to dive into,” Shyamalan said at the time of the announcement.
Tales from the Crypt is based on the EC Comics series of the same name, created by William Gaines. The original show ran from 1989 until 1996 on HBO, and the show’s host, the Crypt Keeper, has become an icon of horror.
The new series would have been “based on” the comics, with a reinvented Crypt Keeper — although it’s distinctly possible that the specter of the cult-classic HBO series is part of the rights issues TNT alluded to.
