'Locke & Key' Pilot Will Be Shown At Comic Con

It isn't often that a network decides to showcase a property that it decided not to fully embrace, but that is exactly what Fox will allow to happen with the comic book adaptation Locke & Key next month at Comic Con. The pilot was directed by Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo, Never Let Me Go) with Miranda Otto and Nick Stahl in the cast, but Fox elected not to pick up the show. Despite that fact, the company has given its blessing for comic publisher IDW to hold a panel presentation for the show at Comic Con, complete with a screening of the full pilot.

Deadline says that the panel will take place July 22 at 10:30 AM with comic creators Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez, as well as Josh Friedman (pilot writer/producer), Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.

The show was envisioned as a summer series, then possibly a fall prospect, before Fox decided not to pick it up at all. It was shopped to other cable networks, and finally just killed. But the obvious question is whether good audience response to the pilot might give the series new life.

Here is the official synopsis from the publisher:

Locke & Key tells of Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion, with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them.... and home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all...! Acclaimed suspense novelist and New York Times best-selling author Joe Hill (Heart-Shaped Box) creates an all-new story of dark fantasy and wonder, with astounding artwork from Gabriel Rodriguez. Hill has received the Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection, the British Fantasy Award for Best Collection and Best Short Story, and the Sydney J. Bounds Best Newcomer Award-2007, among his growing collection of critical accolades.

At the 2009 Eisner Awards, Locke & Key was nominated for Best Limited Series and Joe Hill was nominated for Best Writer. You can watch a trailer for the comic book that was created by IDW Publishing: