The TV series source material was in black and white, but writer/director Rob Zombie is clearly taking full advantage of the fact that his version of The Munsters allows him to bring the beloved characters of Herman, Lily, and The Count (a.k.a. Grandpa) to the screen in color. This is obvious from the latest behind-the-scenes image Zombie shared on social media:
Zombie posted this image with the following caption:
A view from my monitor. Three very tired Munsters trying to conserve their energy between takes. It’s been a tough one for this trio. Three hours in makeup – 14 hours of shooting – one hour of clean up. Then a drive back to the hotel, grab a few zzz and straight back on set. It’s definitely the end of a long day here. Outside the stage the sun is definitely beginning to rise. Working from sunrise to sunrise.
The Munsters is based on the classic sitcom of the same title, which ran for two seasons, from September 1964 to May 1966, and consisted of 70 episodes. (You can buy the complete series at THIS LINK.) The original show
starred Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein’s monster and head-of-the-household Herman Munster; Yvonne De Carlo as his wife Lily Munster; Al Lewis as Lily’s father, Grandpa, the somewhat over-the-hill vampire Count Dracula who longs for the “good old days” in Transylvania; Beverley Owen (later replaced by Pat Priest) as their teenage niece Marilyn Munster, who was attractive by conventional standards but the “ugly duckling” of the family; and Butch Patrick as their werewolfish son Eddie Munster.
Zombie’s new film stars Jeff Daniel Phillips as Herman, Sheri Moon Zombie as Lily, Daniel Roebuck as The Count, Sylvester McCoy as the Munsters’ loyal servant Igor, Richard Brake as mad scientist Dr. Henry Augustus Wolfgang, Catherine Schell as Zoya Krupp, Jorge Garcia as Floop, and Cassandra “Elvira” Peterson as realtor Barbara Carr.
Zombie has been sharing pictures throughout the making of The Munsters. He has shown off his director’s chair, the blueprint for an exact replica of the Munsters’ house, given us a look at costume designs for Herman and Lily Munster’s sleepwear, confirmed that horror host character Zombo will be in the movie, showed off a piece of furniture, some set interiors, posted a picture of the wig Roebuck will be wearing and of Roebuck being measured for Grandpa’s coffin, given an early look at the crafting of Herman’s head, shown off some of the wardrobe, shared pictures of some creature effects, showed the houses being built on Mockingbird Lane, updated on the construction of the Munsters Mansion, showed the completed house, teased that Herman will be wearing the leather jacket he wears when racing in the Dragula roadster, revealed Sylvester McCoy‘s Igor look, given us a glimpse of Richard Brake as Dr. Wolfgang, Catherine Schell as Zoya Krupp, Jorge Garcia as Herman’s buddy Floop, Cassandra Peterson as Barbara Carr, a Munsters Christmas card, the three leads getting their makeup fixed, Lily on a monitor, and more.
The Munsters has officially been rated PG for “macabre and suggestive material, scary images and language”. A release date has not yet been announced.