UPDATE: Universal has announced that they will be releasing THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS on September 21, 2018.
The Eli Roth-directed adaptation of John Bellairs' 1973 novel THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS now has its star. Owen Vaccaro has been cast in the lead role of 10-year-old Lewis, who
had always wanted to live in a house like Uncle Jonathan’s — full of marble fireplaces and secret passageways and dozens of unused, unexplored rooms. And living with Uncle Jonathan, a real wizard, was full of fun and surprises.
But while Uncle Jonathan practiced funny and comfortable white magic, the original owner of the old house, Isaac Izard, had been an evil sorcerer. Isaac Izard had devised a plan for bringing about the end of the world. Somewhere in the walls of the house he had hidden a clock. Every night Lewis and Uncle Jonathan could hear it ticking — sometimes loud, sometimes soft — marking off the minutes until doomsday.
Lewis knew they had to find the clock before it was too late. Then he decided to dabble in a litte magic of his own, and their time almost ran out.
Vaccaro is going to have a strong supporting cast in the film. Jack Black is playing the wizard Uncle Jonathan, with Cate Blanchett as the witch who lives next door and (as announced yesterday) Kyle MacLachlan as the evil sorcerer Isaac Izard.
The screenplay adaptation of THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS has been written by Supernatural creator Eric Kripke, who will also be producing the film with Brad Fischer and James Vanderbilt for Amblin Entertainment. William Sherak, Tracey Nyberg, and Laeta Kalogridis serve as executive producers.
Vaccaro's previous acting credits include DADDY'S HOME and MOTHER'S DAY (the Garry Marshall comedy).
THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS is scheduled to be released on September 21, 2018. Roth's remake of DEATH WISH hits theatres a couple months from now, on November 22nd.