NBC/Universal has decided to pass on a proposed film version of the popular 90′s series "American Gothic".

Craig Marquardo, of the Fathom Motion Picture Company, has been in discussions for a few years now about the film – a restart essentially, again centering on a small town Sheriff who could be the devil – but says today that it’s been scrapped for the time being.

"As of last week, Jeffrey Kirschenbaum, a production exec at NBC/Universal, said that the creative team has little interest in developing ‘Gothic’ as a film", he tells.

Fathom apparently had keen interest from some of the show’s original stars (including Gary Cole, Lucas Black and Paige Turco) and creators (including Sam Raimi), and has suggested he could possibly develop and finance it – with the backing of the original troupe.

"What of my developing it, with my money, and a team consisting of Sam Raimi, Steven Gaghan (script), Lucas Black, Gary Cole and the rest of the original cast? – An interminable non-reply as yet".

Little Magic Films, a company known more for their distribution efforts in Japan, were going to be the financial partners with Fathom on "American Gothic" before Universal handed down their decision.

The hold up on the fate of the film was the pending sale of Universal to NBC.

“American Gothic” aired from September 1995 to July 1996. Executive Prodced by Sam Raimi and Robert G. Tapert and created by Shaun Cassidy, it told the story of a charming small-town Sheriff who seems to be posses a hellish power that’s used on anyone who gets in the way of his plans. It was axed after only one season, but developed quite a following in that short amount of time.