It director Andy Muschietti wants to remake Pet Sematary

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

There has been a remake of the 1989 Stephen King adaptation PET SEMATARY in the works at Paramount Pictures for a long time. At one point, Alexandre Aja was in talks to direct the film, and in 2013 28 WEEKS LATER director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo officially signed on. Matthew Greenberg (writer of the King adaptations 1408 and MERCY), David Kajganich (who has also worked on adaptations of IT and THE STAND), and THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN screenwriter Jeff Buhler all worked on drafts of the script. 

It's been three years since we've heard anything about the PET SEMATARY re-do, which isn't a good sign that it's going to make its way into production any time soon. That's fine by MAMA director Andy Muschietti, whose take on (the first half of) IT will be reaching theatres on September 8th, because he would like to make PET SEMATARY himself.

Speaking with Toronto Sun, Muschietti revealed that he and his producing partner / sister Barbara Muschietti have their eye on the property: 

We’re huge fans of Pet Sematary. If we can get our hands on that and do the Pet Sematary we want to do, that will be something. One day, maybe.”

One day, maybe, but in the meantime Muschietti will hopefully be getting the chance to direct the second half of the IT story. The Muschiettis also hold the rights to make an adaptation of King's teleportation short story THE JAUNT.

Directed by Mary Lambert, the '89 version of PET SEMATARY was written by King himself and told the following story: 

For most families, moving is a new beginning. But for the Creeds, it could be the beginning of the end. Because they've just moved in next door to a place that children built with broken dreams, the Pet Sematary. It's a tiny patch of land that hides a mysterious Indian burial ground with the powers of resurrection.

The original PET SEMATARY was traumatizing to me as a child, but I do think a better movie could be made out of the story. With one exception. There's no way any other actor could live up to the performance Fred Gwynne delivered as the Creeds' neighbor Jud Crandall.