R.L. Stine’s books have captured the imagination of young readers for decades, and then turned those imaginations into nightmares involving haunted masks and terrifying dolls. Now the movie world around his books is expanding with a sequel to 2015’s GOOSEBUMPS on the way from Sony, and an adaptation around his series of Fear Street books nipping at its heels from Fox. Though not a ton is known about the latter, we here at JoBlo are happy to give you an update via the film’s producer, Peter Chernin.
Our own Eric Walkuski recently spoke with the producer over the phone, and though they mostly discussed WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES Chernin was able to dish a few words about FEAR STREET, saying how the movie has the potential to be like nothing we’ve ever seen:
I can't tell you much, but we're working on it really hard. We have the coolest idea ever for it. It's a hard thing to say in this business, but I think it's never been done. We're working on it really hard. I hope in the next few months we'll have something to announce, but we've got some cool, cool stuff for the franchise.
Oh my, did he just use the magic word there at the end? I think he did, and there’s definitely room for a franchise in the wide world of Stine. The Fear Street series began in 1989 and continued with different variations until 1999. In 2005 Stine picked it back up with a three-part miniseries, and then began writing more books in 2014. To this day the series has sold over 80 million copies worldwide. I’m not a math guy, but that seems like a lot of fans willing to buy some movie tickets.
Stine announced via Twitter earlier this year that the movie has begun production, and to look out for its release sometime next year. Based on Chernin’s words the movie’s production seems to indeed be moving smoothly, and if we're expecting a 2018 release it could face competition from GOOSEBUMPS 2, which is aiming for a September 21, 2018 release.
The GOOSEBUMPS movie from Sony with Jack Black was a fun little flick, but this FEAR STREET film from 20th Century Fox sounds like it could be more grounded, possibly being less of a family film. When Chernin said the words “never been done” I have to admit I got a little tingle in my spine. That could mean some exciting things for the series, which we could see more entries in if this one does well.
WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES begins on July 14 with Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson and more.