Back in early 2020 came the news that Paramount and Entertainment One were proceeding with a sequel to 2019’s young adult-targeted horror film “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” based on Alvin Schwartz’s popular kid’s books.
The first film follows a group of friends who discover a strange book with the ability to bring their greatest fears to life. Book characters like The Pale Lady, The Toe Monster, Harold the Scarecrow and the Jangly Man, among others, all made the jump to the screen.
With five dozen stories and plenty more monstrous sketches and designs on hand, there’s plenty of material left for future films. It has been a few years since that last update and from the outside, it appeared the project had stalled.
Now, in a recent interview with IGN to promote the far longer gestating “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” film, director André Øvredal confirmed that ‘Scary Stories’ follow-up is still in development but has made some progress:
“We have a story. We have a script. We’ve been working on the script as late as last year and even slightly into this year. The process obviously stopped with the strike – but it’s alive, for sure. COVID and then [The Last Voyage of the Demeter] eating up two years of my life certainly put a dent in the progress.”
Øvredal is returning to direct from a screenplay written by returning scribes Dan Hageman and Kevin Hageman, based on producer Guillermo del Toro’s story.
“The Last Voyage of the Demeter”, which has been renamed “Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter” in some international markets, is slated to open on August 11th.
