With (yes) $666 million worldwide as of Halloween, the film adaptation of IT has cleared the way for the return of Stephen King as one of cinema’s most sought-after brands. Case in point: Variety is reporting that Paramount Pictures has dug up two Pet Sematary directors, Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer, for the remake of the 1989 original. The pair are best known for their critically-acclaimed 2014 indie horror film Starry Eyes, as well as the anthology Holidays and MTV’s Scream series.
Kolsch and Widmyer were announced in 2016 to write and direct a sequel to Andres Muschetti’s Mama for Universal and Exorcism Diaries for Summit Entertainment, though it seems like Sematary may now take precedence. The two reportedly beat out other directors including Sean Carter (Keep Watching) and Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down) for the gig, which previously had Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) attached back on Halloween in 2013.
Jeff Buhler (The Midnight Meat Train, Jacob’s Ladder remake) and David Kajganich (A Bigger Splash, Suspiria remake) penned the current Pet Sematary script, with Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian producing alongside Alexandra Loewy, who is executive producing for Paramount.
King’s 1983 novel Pet Sematary tells the story of a Northeastern pet cemetery built on a Native American burial ground and home to a monstrous, supernatural Wendigo. The story was previously adapted for the screen in 1989 with an unsuccessful sequel, Pet Sematary Two, following in 1992.