Watch Your Head: Sleepy Hollow Reboot In The Works
Are you ready to head back (ugh, I'm so sorry) to the supernatural gothic world of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman?
To date, the honor of the most famous and well-loved adaptation of the classic short story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving, simply has to go to the 1997 episode of "Wishbone" titled "Halloween Hound: The Legend of Creepy Collars." Yes, it's true: nobody has yet to even approach surpassing the genius of dressing up a Jack Russell terrier (portrayed by the late, great Soccer the Dog) in period attire and letting him loose in all the greatest literary stories. Come on, people, look deep within yourselves and you'll know that I'm right!
Other than that masterpiece, viewers will likely be most familiar with the 1999 Tim Burton film and the 2013 Fox series that ran for a total of 4 seasons, serving as the last notable attempt to bring the material into live-action. But as we all know, no potentially profitable IP (especially one residing in the public domain) will stay dormant for long in this industry. That's why today's news that Paramount is eager to reboot the property comes as little surprise.
Deadline reports that the studio is moving full steam ahead with rebooting "Sleepy Hollow" with the suddenly in-demand filmmaker Lindsey Beer tabbed to take charge of the project about the terrifying headless horseman who plagues a quiet town of innocents. Beer will write, direct, and produce the feature film in an effort to revitalize the story that made Burton's film achieve great success at the box office and become an instant Halloween staple.
The Headless Horseman rides again
Lindsey Beer schedule is rapidly filling up, as the writer will soon make her directing debut with the upcoming "Pet Semetary" movie. She's previously worked on a previous draft of "Star Trek 4" and is currently attached to the "Hello Kitty" film, Disney's "Bambi" remake, and even a "Fast & Furious" spin-off. "Sleepy Hollow" will only be the latest major project to keep Beer busy in the months and years ahead, slated to become the second feature film under her direction. And that's just the movies. On television, she's also serving as the creator, showrunner, and writer on "The Magic Order" series for Netflix.
As far as her "Sleepy Hollow" film is concerned, Deadline reports that plot details are "unknown" at this time ... but I feel like we can take a general guess as to the major beats this latest adaptation will cover, no? Granted, this property has undergone several different attempts at reimagining the extremely well-known story over the decades, from focusing on Ichabod Crane's descendants in modern times to, yes, a talking dog with a big spot over one eye, guiding kids through the story for likely the very first time.
Stay tuned to /Film for more "Wishbone" nostalgia and updates on this "Sleepy Hollow" production as they come in.