Locke & Key adaptation delayed because of FOX?

Last Updated on July 22, 2021

Damn. And just like that the LOCKE & KEY adaptation has hit yet another snag in the road. What's the snag? Well it sounds like FOX is holding things up because of their failed pilot. In a recent interview with MTV Joe Hill revealed that the adaptation has, "been snared in an endless series of contractual negotiations. Universal took a long, long time to come through with an acceptable contract for myself and IDW. Now they're dealing with a bureaucracy as labyrinthine and implacable as their own: FOX TV.

Uni wants to avoid spending $25 million on a movie, and then have FOX steal their thunder by releasing a three-year-old pilot(SEE THE TRAILER FOR THE PILOT BELOW). FOX wants to see some coin on all the money they sank into the pilot in the first place. The lawyers all have to validate their salaries. That said, Alex and Bob are the two most tenacious people I've ever met, and if anyone can see 'Locke & Key' through the contractual maze, and on into production, it's them. Of course all this could've been avoided if FOX had just made the series. I know I'm biased, but I kinda think they bet on the wrong ponies that season."

Those "ponies" were "Terra Nova," "Alcatraz," and "The Finder," all three ended up being canceled after a season. Hill sounds pretty confident that Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci will see this one through, and I hope he's right because fans have been waiting for this adaptation for much too long.

Locke & Key tells of three siblings who, after the gruesome murder of their father, move to their ancestral home in Massachusetts. They soon discover the house has magical keys that give the bearers a vast array of powers and abilities. However, a devious creature is also after the keys, forcing the family to make a stand against evil.

Ted Adams, the CEO and publisher of IDW Publishing, the company behind the comic, will produce alongside writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Executive vp production Jon Mone and creative executive Jay Polidoro will oversee the project for Universal, while Ben Kim will handle development for K/O Paper Products.