The Munsters Movie Directed By Rob Zombie?

By RodneyHatfieldJr for Movies

The rumor mill has it that Rob Zombie has been hired by Universal Pictures to direct a new movie based on the classic comedy series The Munsters. Apparently, Zombie will write and direct the new movie adaptation with production scheduled to begin in Budapest in early May. However, neither Zombie nor Universal has yet officially commented on the rumors.


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According to gossip, Rob Zombie has also called upon some of his frequent collaborators to play main roles in the rumored movie. First, his real-life wife and consistent lead star Sheri Moon Zombie have reportedly been cast as Lily Munster, the matriarch of the family. Who didn’t see that coming? While Jeff Daniel Phillips will play her husband Herman. Daniel Roebuck and Richard Brake, who often appear in Zombie's movies, have also been cast in undisclosed roles alongside Jorge Garcia and Cassandra “Elvira" Peterson. Elvira naturally did pique my interest. She was a creepy sex goddess of my youth.


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Since Zombie's movies are vulgar and having excessive violence, he might seem like an odd choice as the right filmmaker to reimagine The Munsters. And that is a huge concern, but his fandom and appreciation of the classic sitcom are very well documented. He wrote and sings "Dragula", a direct reference to the series(and a dozen other classic horror films). Zombie is also a huge classic horror fan. His videos are full of these examples.


The Munsters originally aired for 70 episodes between 1964 and 1966. Despite its short run, the show later found a new life with much greater popularity through airing the old episodes in syndication. The original cast featured Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster, Yvonne De Carlo as Lily, Al Lewis as Grandpa, Butch Patrick as Eddie, and Pat Priest and Beverly Owen sharing the role of Marilyn. From 1988 to 1991, a new cast brought back the old characters in the sequel TV series The Munsters Today(which wasn't bad at all and had several classic monster guests). Add in several movies featuring several members of the original cast would also be released over the years, including Munster, Go Home! in 1966, The Mini-Munsters in 1973, Here Comes the Munsters in 1995, and The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas in 1996. In 2012, NBC put in an attempt to revive the show with a reboot dubbed Mockingbird Lane. A one-hour Halloween special, the show was developed by Bryan Fuller and starred Jerry O'Connell and Portia de Rossi. Ultimately, the network decided to pass on ordering the special to series. One of the main reasons why the series is a solid favorite with fans is the fact it is practically a monster mash of different classic monster archetypes.


People from my age group Gen X, Musters as well as Addams Family were huge horror influences on us. We did not have the advantage of the Internet where any movie or TV show was just a few clicks away. So we latched onto shows with strong, deep loyalty. The Munsters have had other rumors of a reboot for the last few years. So this may just be another one. Possible it was leaked to see what kind of buzz it would generate. Either way, there are a few generations that will voice their cheers and jeers. Rob may either generate the buzz or destroy it. We will have to wait and see. The Munsters does not yet have a release date as Universal has not yet confirmed the movie's production. 

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