‘Are You Afraid of the Dark?’ Removed From 2019 Release Schedule

Earlier this year, the movie adaptation of Are You Afraid of the Dark? had its release date moved forward by a week to October 4th, yet Paramount Pictures has now removed the film from its release schedule entirely, putting the film’s release in question.

Over on Twitter, BoxOffice revealed, “ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?, previously slated for 10/4/19, now has no release date.”

It’s unclear exactly what this could mean for the film, with one possibility being that, with an adaptation of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark also landing in theaters this fall and seeking the same audience, the film based on the Nickelodeon series wanted to reevaluate its release strategy. Understandably, the similarities in titles would be enough to perplex casual viewers, with the teen-oriented horrors of each film giving both projects more similarities.

A major difference between the properties, however, is that production on Scary Stories has seemingly been completed, with a teaser debuting earlier this month. Are You Afraid of the Dark?, however, has yet to see any official casting announcements.

Another confusing detail is that Nickelodeon was planning on debuting a miniseries event leading up to the film’s release, with fans now wondering if plans for that miniseries will also undergo changes.

The cable network announced the event via press release, “The beloved anthology series will return this October as a brand-new miniseries and follow new members of the Midnight Society as they gather around a campfire in the woods to share scary stories. The miniseries will coincide with the upcoming Are You Afraid of the Dark? theatrical movie from Paramount Pictures, Paramount Players’, and Nickelodeon Movies, in theaters October 2019.”

While details of the film’s narrative are still being kept under wraps, writer Gary Dauberman promised the film will honor the spirit of the original series.

“That show is so important to me. I didn’t want to age it down too much because for it’s time, it had some really disturbing episodes and some really dark episodes. Not every story the Midnight Society told ended with happily ever after or a person learning their lesson and it will never happen again,” Dauberman admitted to SlashFilm. “I really embraced that side of things and I think it’s been a long time. I think fear is healthy for kids. I don’t think we have to always sand down the edges of things and that’s something I really wanted to do with Are You Afraid of the Dark? I think it is scary and I think kids will be scared watching it at times, and also they’ll laugh at times. I think it’s got a great message. I think it’s got a great heart to it but it is still scary. I think that’s great. I think it’s going to open it up to a wider audience.”

Stay tuned for details on Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Are you disappointed by this news? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

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