Caffeinated Clint
Not surprisingly, considering the exec-pleasing reviews, Paramount are already laying down soil on a “Pet Sematary” follow-up.
Unlike the original franchise, which went straight into sequel mode (hiring “Terminator 2” pin-up Edward Furlong to front the teen-skewed “Pet Sematary Two” in 1992), producers of the remake want to go back to the beginning.
Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, never one to shy away from a good sequel or prequel, having been responsible for much of the “Transformers” and Jack Ryan series run, tells Consequence of Sound there’s a possibility of a prequel.
“I think if there’s anything here, there’s a prequel. I think if you look at the book, we didn’t cover all that stuff that happens before the Creed family moves in. So, I think there’s a movie there, and I think I’d be particularly interested in doing that, because, again, it’s the source material and you are going toward something that also has a lot of crazy, creepy feelings about it.”
Author Stephen King never wrote a sequel or prequel to “Pet Sematary” but considering how shuffed he is about the remake, he’ll unlikely protest – particularly if he’s presented with a bag of cash at the time of his conversation with the studio.
A “Pet Sematary” prequel would likely revisit John Lithgow’s Jud Crandall as a young man – since there seems to be a pretty meaty backstory there, only hinted about it in the new film.
While Mary Lambert’s original “Pet Sematary” sequel didn’t catch up with the Creed family, the director tells Bloody Disgusting that that’s where she wanted to go with the sequel.
“I wanted [Pet Sematary Two] to be a direct sequel about Ellie, but [the film I made] was the script the powers that be wanted.”
“She’s in Chicago at the end of the original movie. I’m pretty sure her grandparents wouldn’t have sent her back to live alone in that house after all that had happened, so I would just take the point of view that Ellie grew up in Chicago but what happened to her parents was not discussed very much. I would have jumped ahead to have her be a young woman. I would have her go back to Maine with her cat.”
Lambert admits the ship has sailed on that idea, largely due to the remake.
“It probably won’t happen because the remake doesn’t go there,” Lambert said. “It wouldn’t be a good sequel for the remake. It would be a good sequel for the original.”
“Pet Sematary” hits theaters next week.
