Almost 50 years after their television debut, that famous Transylvanian family is headed to the big screen—in the hands of Rob Zombie. The writer/director/musician announced on Instagram that The Munsters, a project he’s “been chasing for 20 years,” will be his next film.
The Munsters, a monsterrific version of family-friendly sitcoms, debuted in 1964 and ran for 70 episodes. It was the middle-class sibling to the fancy-pants Addams Family, which aired in the same era. But unlike those eternal Addams, The Munsters haven’t had multiple remakes and popular film versions. In the ’60s, there was a spinoff show, and a movie that let viewers see the family in color (Munster, Go Home! pictured above), but it’s been a while since anyone tackled the Munster clan. The last attempt, in 2012, was Bryan Fuller’s Mockingbird Lane, a TV show that was canceled before it went to series (the pilot aired as a special).
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Zombie directed several music videos (including one for his song “Dragula,” named for the car from The Munsters) before making his feature film directorial debut with 2003’s gory House of 1000 Corpses. He’s continued to write and direct since then; his most recent film was 2019’s 3 From Hell, the final film of the Firefly trilogy, which began with 1000 Corpses.
Zombie’s vibe is usually not quite so friendly as the Munster family, but he also clearly knows and loves the source material. The film is being produced by Universal Studios’ 1440 Productions, which creates films and series for non-theatrical release, and suggests it’s likely that
Zombie’s Munsters will appear on Peacock rather than in theaters.
No casting or production timeline has been announced.
