Pet Sematary Prequel Adds Pam Grier

With production set to begin next month, the untitled Pet Sematary prequel for Paramount+ has added Jackie Brown star Pam Grier to its cast, per Variety. Grier's role in the film isn't yet known, with the prequel coming from director Lindsey Beer (Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, Netflix's The Magic Order) from a script by Jeff Buhler, who also wrote the 2019 Pet Sematary adaptation. The original Stephen King novel was first adapted into a film in 1989, which earned itself a sequel, with this upcoming prequel set to take place before the 2019 film. The new film will be a Paramount+ exclusive offering.

The outlet notes that the film will "serve as an origin story to the Stephen King novel about a family that discovers a rather disturbing graveyard in the woods behind their home."

In the original novel and both live-action adaptations, the story centers around a family who moves to rural Maine and struggles with adjusting to their new community. When their family cat dies, they bury it in the nearby "Pet Sematary," only for the cat to come back to life. Following the death of their child, the father buries the deceased in the Pet Sematary, igniting a horrifying reunion.

Also starring in the new film are Jackson White (Mrs. Fletcher), Forrest Goodluck (The Revenant), Jack Mulhern (Mare of Easttown), Natalie Alyn Lind (The Goldbergs), and Isabella Star LeBlanc.

Back in 2019, Buhler discussed the opportunities of continuing the franchise, breaking down what he would most be interested in exploring.

"We had discussions about possible follow-up films, and for the most part, everybody feels like we've told the story of the Creeds," Buhler shared with ComicBook.com. "It's difficult, there are ways to continue this story, this particular story, but it feels almost, the trajectory of this film feels like we flew the plane into the mountain a little bit. It just blows up."

He added, "So a lot of the ideas that we've been batting around currently, recently, have all been about, more about digging into the mythology of the town, these rituals that children present, the mythology of the Micmac, the Wendigo, the cemetery, the origins, Jud's life. So it looks like, I don't want to promise anything, because we don't know, we're not even down the road on an idea yet."

Stay tuned for details on the Pet Sematary prequel.

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