Though it looked like it was all stations go for the new TV take on Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez' comics run Locke & Key, with a US home (streaming service Hulu) and a director in place thanks to Doctor Strange's Scott Derrickson. Now, thanks to schedule clashes with his work on another small screen project (Snowpiercer), Derrickson is out, but he's been replaced by Mama director Andy Muschietti.
Locke & Key, which debuted via IDW Publishing in 2008 written by Hill and illustrated by Rodriguez, is a complex, sprawling tale that has a history going back to the American Revolution. But the focus is on Nina Locke and her children Tyler, Kinsey and Bode, who are trying to start a new life after surviving an unspeakable horror. Trying to rebuild, they move to the family home known as Keyhouse in Lovecraft, Massachusetts. There, they discover magical keys that can open portals that are also being sought by a terrifying, hate-filled creature who has his own designs on the portals.
The project has been as far as pilot stage before, as Fox Television developed it in 2010. It never made it to series, but the title wouldn't go away – Universal looked into making it as a movie. Finally, last year, Hill took matters into his own hands, developing the script along with Lost and Bates Motel veteran Carlton Cuse, who is still attached as showrunner.
Muschietti's sister and partner in terror/production Barbara is also joining the project, which should now start shooting this year. Muschietti's most recent work, the new film adaptation of Stephen King's It, lands in UK cinemas on 8 September.
Scott Derrickson And Carlton Cuse Set For New Locke & Key TV Drama