Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav scrapped the sequel to a horror film that fans have requested for years. If there is one thing Zaslav will be known for during his tenure as CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, it’s putting a kibosh on several projects in order to save some money. Whether it’s something high profile like Batgirl or purging Max of TV shows and movies, he’s all about saving the bottom line. So it’s no surprise that Warner Bros. CEO had a hand in stopping a sequel to the 2011 horror cult-classic Tucker & Dale vs. Evil.
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SlashFilm spoke to Tucker & Dale vs. Evil director Eli Craig about his new movie Clown in a Cornfield. The topic naturally turned to Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, and the various attempts to get a sequel off the ground. Craig confirmed that a sequel to the movie starring Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine has been close on several occasions, but for one reason or another, has never made its way to the finish line.
“Honestly, Tucker & Dale 2 has died more deaths than the college kids in Tucker & Dale,” Craig said. “We’ve had so many versions that have almost got off its feet or, for one reason or another, have gotten killed. It really does set us back that people can’t look at the box office, the actual box office, of the movie.”
However, Craig went on to reveal that a TV sequel almost happened, until David Zaslav pulled the plug on it.
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“It’s always been a struggle, and then when we do set it up, and we get all the pieces together, it gets killed somehow,” he said. “We almost did a TV show with it that was on TNT/TBS, and you’ll be happy to know that David Zaslav, the slayer of all cinema [laughs], came in and put the final nail in the coffin for Tucker & Dale as we were about to go to series, and just cancelled all production.”
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil followed Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine), two hillibillies who vacation at their run-down mountain cabin. Things take a turn for the worse when a group of college kids mistake the pair for murderers. The movie was a success with critics and audiences alike, with Tucker & Dale vs. Evil receiving an 86% Tomatometer score and an 85% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes. The Tomatometer score is from 114 critic reviews, with over 25,000 general audiences chiming in for the Popcornmeter score.
When Warner Bros. scrapped the already-made Batgirl movie for a tax write-off, he called it the right decision at the time.
“What content is going to help us win? The content that wasn’t, we made a strategic decision on,” Zaslav said. “It was difficult and it was painful. But I think it was the right decision for the company and it was necessary.”
Eli Craig has told fans to keep hopes alive for the Tucker & Dale vs. Evil sequel.
“It’s been through a lot of deaths. There’s a part of me that thinks it could be the first and last movie I ever make,” Craig said. “Maybe I’ll be moving along on a walker with Tucker and Dale and we’re like, ‘We’re making this!’ I’ve never completely let go of the idea we’d make a sequel. And part of the reason people want to see a sequel is because it’s set up for it. Tucker & Dale, when I wrote it, there were these elements I wanted to follow, like Chad is still alive, Allison and Dale’s story. So I always wanted to do a sequel, but Hollywood is a slayer of great ideas. But stay alive, fans! Because there’s always a possibility.”
Are you disappointed to hear about the scrapped Tucker & Dale vs. Evil sequel? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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