(Left) Director Robert Eggers on the set of his film ‘Nosferatu’, a Focus Features release. (Right) David Bowie as Jareth in ‘Labyrinth.’ Photo: The Jim Henson Company. Copyright: Labyrinth Enterprises.
Preview:
- Robert Eggers is reportedly to make a new ‘Labyrinth’ movie.
- The likes of Scott Derrickson and Fede Álvarez have been attached in the past.
- The 1986 original starred Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie.
Writer/director Robert Eggers has his most recent stab at celluloid fear, ‘Nosferatu’ on screens at the moment. The movie, a new version of what was a bootleg take on ‘Dracula’ features some truly creepy character work and both psychological and physical horror.
Given that, and his history with movies such as ‘The Witch,’ ‘The Northman’ and ‘The Lighthouse,’ he might not appear to be the first person you’d think to tackling a remake of a film originally brought to screens by Muppet maestro Jim Henson, which for all its scarier themes, is mostly a family fantasy adventure.
And yet, at least according to reporter Jeff Sneider, that’s exactly what could happen, as Sony has Eggers setting his sights on a reboot of 1986 movie ‘Labyrinth.’
“Where everything seems possible and nothing is what it seems.”
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1 hr 42 minJun 27th, 1986
What’s the story of ‘Labyrinth’?
(L to R) David Bowie as Jareth and Jennifer Connelly as Sarah in ‘Labyrinth.’ Photo: The Jim Henson Company. Copyright: Labyrinth Enterprises.
The original movie was directed by Henson and naturally features a fair amount of fresh felt creations from his workshop.
Jennifer Connelly stars as Sarah Williams, a teenager forced by her father and stepmother to babysit her baby stepbrother, Toby, while they are out.
The child will not stop crying, and Sarah wishes that he would be taken away. Out of the blue, he stops crying and when she looks for him in his crib, she learns that her wish was granted, and the Goblin King Jareth (David Bowie) has taken him to his castle in the Goblin City in the middle of a labyrinth. Sarah repents and asks Jareth to give him back, but Jareth tells her that she has to rescue him before midnight.
Sarah finds some willing allies, but the question remains… Will they rescue Toby in time?
Henson came up with the original story alongside Dennis Lee, and script duties were handed over to Monty Python member Terry Jones (with Elaine May contributing an uncredited polish to boost the characters and humor of Sarah and Jareth).
Related Article: Brian Henson Talks ‘Labyrinth’ Digital Re-Release and Playing Hoggle
What has happened with the new version so far?
The CEO of the Jim Henson Company, Lisa Henson.
Eggers considering the new movie might not be as strange as it sounds, as Sony and the Jim Henson Company (run by Henson’s daughter, Lisa) has had horror filmmakers attached in the past.
There have been loose plans to make a new ‘Labyrinth’ film for several years, though a direct sequel would certainly seem to be a tough ask given the death of Bowie in 2016. The challenge of finding someone who could channel his unique energy is surely a huge one.
At one point, ‘Alien: Romulus’ filmmaker Fede Álvarez was planning to direct before he announced in 2020 that he had stepped down. At the time, it was reported that the project was still moving forward with ‘Doctor Strange’ and ‘The Black Phone’ director Scott Derrickson taking over at the helm.
Yet Derrickson revealed last year that his version had stalled at the script stage. Here’s what he told Comicbook.com:
“I don’t know what’s happening with that. We never got the script all the way to a place where the studio wanted to make it, but I was very proud of the work that we did on it. And it’s a hard, hard project to turn into something commercially viable, because it’s so imaginative and surreal that there’s no way that it can be done cheaply. And at the same time, it’s so daring and different that it is a tough movie for a studio to feel competent that it has enough commercial value to earn a profit. So I think that it’s a tough nut to crack, but all I can tell you is I’m very proud of the work that we did on it. We certainly had a great film in mind. Because the project is still in development, I probably shouldn’t say… I think we had a really cool idea, but I don’t want to blow that in case the movie does get made.”
While the issue of Bowie remains up in the air, Connelly has said that she at least had conversations about returning, though she admitted to Collider that she wasn’t sure where the movie was going to land.
According to Brian Henson –– Jim’s son and a director in his own right who also works for the family company, there is still life in the project, according to his statement to Comicbook.com:
“That’s a question you have to ask my sister. My sister Lisa, who’s CEO of the Jim Henson Company. That is a project that we are very excited about, but we can’t talk about it.”
Nothing official has yet been said about Eggers’ involvement, nor whether he’ll look to make a legacy sequel or re-imagine the original (as he has with his atmospheric ‘Nosferatu’), but we’d certainly be intrigued to see what might result. Does anyone have a set of juggling crystal balls we can use to get a glimpse?
When will then new ‘Labyrinth’ be in theaters?
‘Labyrinth’ is available for purchase or to rent on digital beginning February 6th.
With the film still seemingly stuck in development limbo, we’re not even going to guess at this point when it might head to theaters.
But if Eggers can actually make it happen, then it has a stronger chance than ever of actually getting to screens.
‘Nosferatu’ director Robert Eggers.
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