Del Toro’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark scares up a release date

In the immortal words of Sergeant Terry Jeffords of BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, "Diaper up!" I say this because the Guillermo del Toro-produced silver screen adaptation of author Alvin Schwartz and artist Stephen Gammell's iconic children's horror novel collection, SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK, now has an official release date of August 9, 2019.

When the film arrives to scare the bejesus out of children of the '80s and beyond, the upcoming frightfest directed by TROLL HUNTER and THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE helmer Andre Øvredal will tell the tale of a group of horrific deaths that have impacted a small town and it’s up to a group of teens to solve them.

Set to star in the highly-anticipated adaptation are Zoe Colletti (ANNIE, RUBICON), Michael Garza (WAYWARD PINES, TIMELESS), Austin Abrams (PAPER TOWNS, GANGSTER SQUAD), Gabriel Rush (THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, LITTLE BOXES), Austin Zajur (KIDDING, FIST FIGHT), and Natalie Ganzhorn (WET BUM, MAKE IT POP).

CBS Films and Lionsgate revealed the SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK's new release date alongside a photo of writer-producer Guillermo del Toro, star Zoe Colletti, and director Andre Øvredal on the set of the film. You can view the image for yourself below:

Written by Daniel Hageman, Kevin Hageman, and Guillermo del Toro, and produced by Sean Daniel, Elizabeth Grave, Guillermo del Toro, Jason F. Brown, and J. Miles Dale, SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK promises to bring a bit of darkness to the family-friendly project. 

Not long ago, Øvredal and del Toro spoke with Deadline about finding the perfect ensemble of young actors to bring the terrifying tales of the beloved series to life on the big screen. "We spent months searching for and assembling the perfect group of actors to help us realize the most terrifying adaptation that we could conceive,” said Øvredal. Del Toro then added, “I am honored to support Andre’s vision and, with our partners, to bring the incredible world of Scary Stories to the screen.”

Now that we have a confirmed release date, hopefully we can expect a trailer in the coming weeks. Personally, I simply cannot wait to see what this movie looks like, overall. I grew up reading the Scary to Tell in the Dark  novels from cover to cover, and still have my original copies. Those collections house some of the most chilling stories I've ever read, and I'm absolutely dying to discover how some of the franchise's most gruesome players will arrive in the upcoming film. Then again, at least the August release date will give us all plenty of time to stock up on Depends-brand diapers, amiright?

SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK will start haunting theaters on August 9, 2019.