Peter Jackson’s The Frighteners Reportedly Being Developed as a Series

Many movie fans might best know Peter Jackson for his accomplishments with The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, while genre fans are likely aware of his many accomplishments in horror prior to those major blockbusters, with Bloody Disgusting reporting that one of those genre films, The Frighteners, is being developed as a TV series by Charlize Theron’s Denver and Delilah Productions. The outlet notes that the project has been developing for the past year, with the production house also keeping open the possibility of a film, as well as this new take leaning more into the horror elements of the original 1996 than embracing its humor.

In the original film, Michael J. Fox stars as a paranormal investigator who has the genuine ability to see and interact with ghosts, though he exploits those gifts to scam customers by clearing houses of fake hauntings. After witnessing a ghost whose death resembles the manner in which his wife was murdered, the investigator realizes that the grim reaper is eradicating spirits to another realm, proving that even death can’t stop a killer instinct.

The Frighteners marked Jackson’s first foray into delivering a genre film with a major studio, as his previous horror efforts were much more independent affairs. To pull off the effects of the grim reaper flying through the city, the film required a tremendous amount of digital effects. The success of the visuals showcased what could be accomplished with digital effects, inspiring Jackson to pursue the development of his Lord of the Rings films.

Jackson’s name might be more associated with big-budget spectacles in recent decades, but the filmmaker admitted that he would happily get back into the world of blood and gore.

“I’m very happy to be disgusting again if the right project comes along,” Jackson shared with The Hollywood Reporter last year. “It would be interesting to see how disgusting [collaborator] Fran [Walsh] and I could be in our older age compared to our younger years because we’ve learned a few things since then. We know a little bit more about the world than we did then, so maybe our levels of disgusting could go into whole new places!”

Stay tuned for details on the potential future of these Frighteners projects.

Would you like to see the film adapted into a series? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!