Back in 1990, the classic creature feature TREMORS introduced us to a great group of characters, the residents of a small Nevada town called Perfection. Among them were Kevin Bacon as Valentine McKee, a handyman who becomes a hero, and Michael Gross as Burt Gummer, a survivalist with a rec room full of guns. When Perfection is invaded by subterranean monsters called Graboids, the townsfolk band together to try to survive the ordeal… and while battling the underground creatures, Val and Burt also do some serious bickering with each other.
While Bacon didn't return for the TREMORS sequels, Gross came back for a supporting role in TREMORS II, then took over as the franchise hero in the rest of the films and in the thirteen episode Tremors TV series that aired in 2003.
After nearly thirty years, Bacon is returning to the role of Valentine McKee, starring in a Tremors mini-series for Blumhouse and Syfy. But if you were hoping to see Bacon and Gross / Val and Burt interact once more, prepare for disappointment.
The pilot episode of the mini-series is currently filming, with SPLICE's Vincenzo Natali directing, and Gross let fans on his Facebook page know that he was never contacted about playing Burt on the show.
…for Tremors fans who have been asking, "Will Kevin Bacon return to do the films?" or "Is your Burt Gummer character going to be in Kevin's series?" I think we can say with a good deal of certainty that the answer to both questions is 'no.' The series is currently shooting in and around Albuquerque, New Mexico, and I have no other details.
After watching Gross carry the franchise for such a long time, it's really sad to see that he's being left out of the new mini-series. Regardless of whether or not the makers of the show want to acknowledge the events of the TREMORS stories Bacon wasn't a part of, it would have been great to see Val and Burt butting heads again.
Written by Andrew Miller, the Tremors mini-series is set
25 years after Valentine McKee defeated the Graboids, and the man who once seemed destined for greatness is anything but. He’s a small-town hero whose glory days faded away with the monsters he braved and whose family moved on when he couldn’t let go of the past.
And yet McKee’s hoping that everything’s about to change. His grown daughter coming to visit on the heels of her graduation could signal a permanent homecoming. But no sooner than she arrives, strange and terrifying events make it clear the town is in danger.
Led by McKee, the gang from Perfection begins to uncover the spine-chilling truth of what’s hunting them. With the future looking darker than ever, these small-town heroes must shake off the dust of years to see what they’re made of.
Bacon is joined in the cast by Emily Tremaine as Val's daughter Emily; John Ellison Conlee as Val's sci-fi loving, yoga-practicing best friend Harlan Maylor; Megan Ketch as returning character Mindy Sterngood, now a doctor who is also "an unanticipated threat"; Shiloh Fernandez as Nico Garza, who works in Earl's Graboid Waste Gobbling company; Toks Olagundoye as Jessica Florence, a city-chic civil engineer who has come to Perfection with plans to expand the access road; Hunter Parrish as the leader of a tribe of earth-worshipping Millenials; Ebonée Noel as the psychic Zoe; Brandon Jay McLaren as Toby, a likeable guy who nobody likes; Haley Tju as dirt-biking drug smuggler Jai; and P.J. Byrne as real estate developer Melvin, a character who was played by Robert Jayne in TREMORS, TREMORS 3, and the previous TV show.
Gross may not be on this show, but the adventures of Burt Gummer will continue in the feature film TREMORS 6, which is expected to be released next May.