After a string of production changes, Locke & Key will be finally coming on small screen through Netflix, according to THR. The live-action supernatural thriller is an adaptation of a comics series written by Joe Hill (Stephen King’s son and the author of novels, NOS4A2 and The Fireman) and drawn by Gabriel Rodríguez.
Launched in 2008 (ran until 2013), by IDW Publishing, Locke & Key is a horror/fantasy series that revolves around three siblings (Jack Mulhern, Megan Carpentier, Jackson Robert Scott in the Hulu pilot) who, after the gruesome murder of their father, move to their ancestral home in Maine only to find the house has magical keys that give them an array of powers but little do they know that a devious demon also wants the keys and will stop at nothing to attain them.
Initially efforts were made to develop the property as a movie, set to launch on Fox in 2011. But the plan gave way to the creation of a TV pilot, directed by Mark Romanek and executive produced by Steven Spielberg. It was quashed by the network before the series could take off.
The property was resurrected with Lost’s Carlton Cuse as EP and a pilot order from Hulu in April 2017. It director Andy Muschietti was brought on board to direct the project until news came this March, that the streamer had dumped the project. Now with Netflix being in talks to license the rights for Locke & Key, re-development of the series is on cards.
The new upcoming series seems to get a lot weirder with intertwining, non-chronological narratives about giants, revolutionary war soldiers discovering an interdimensional vortex, and a terrifying structure called the Drowning Cave.
Comic creator Hill and Cuse have collaborated on the script. Ozer, Adams and Hill also exec produce for IDW. Cuse is still executive producing along with Lindsay Springer (head of Cuse’s production company Genre Arts), Muschietti and his sister, Barbara Muschietti.
With Locke and Key, Netflix has added another comic book franchise to a roster including multiple Marvel dramas including Jessica Jones and The Punisher, Riverdale offshoot Sabrina the Teenage Witch. The online streaming service is yet to provide any comment as deals are still being finalised.
