A new movie based on the classic television show The Twilight Zone is in the works at Warner Bros. Pictures and now has a writer attached. But anyone expecting it to take the same form as the 1983 version that featured segments from Steven Spielberg and John Landis might be disappointed.
The studio has reportedly hired writer Christine Lavaf to pen a draft of the screenplay, which is expected to tell a single story instead of presenting an anthology of weird tales in the way the original Twilight Zone television series and the feature film did.
Lavaf’s résumé is highlighted by work as a writer’s assistant on the series Falling Skies and 66 Park Avenue. She also served as the assistant to the showrunner on Fringe. Variety, which initially reported Lavaf’s involvement, reports that she sold three original scripts last year for sci-fi drama projects, and worked in the writers’ room on the upcoming Godzilla sequel.
A new film based on The Twilight Zone has been in the works for almost a decade now, with Leonardo Di Caprio’s production company, Appian Way, serving as a producer on the film. Previous iterations of the film have had some noteworthy filmmakers attached, including Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes) and Joseph Kosinski (Oblivion).
Created by Rod Serling, The Twilight Zone originally ran for five seasons that encompassed 156 episodes between 1959 and 1964. The series blended the sci-fi, fantasy, and horror genres to tell cautionary — and often terrifying — tales credited with inspiring a generation of filmmakers. It also spawned two revival series over the years, among other projects.
In 1983, Landis and Spielberg produced the feature-length film based on the series, which blended a quartet of stories directed by well-known filmmakers. Along with segments directed by Landis and Spielberg, the anthology featured segments directed by Joe Dante and George Miller — with Miller directing the infamous tale of an airline passenger (played by John Lithgow) who sees a terrifying gremlin on the wing of the plane. (The segment is based on an episode from the original series in which William Shatner played the passenger.)
There’s no official word on the studio’s timeline for The Twilight Zone movie to go into production.
