The cult horror franchise Pumpkinhead is set to receive a reboot courtesy of Paramount Players.
The offshoot of Paramount Pictures -- which has dipped its toes in the horror genre with films like 2020's Spell and a currently untitled Pet Sematary prequel -- hopes to remake the film as part of an ongoing push to develop already existing IPs, according to Bloody Disgusting. While few details are known about the project at this point, a script has allegedly been completed and production has reportedly begun.
The first Pumpkinhead film was released in 1988 as the directorial debut of Stan Winston, who is remembered for his groundbreaking special effects work on movies including The Thing, Edward Scissorhands and the first four films in The Terminator franchise. The titular creature, brought to life via a mixture of practical makeup and prosthetics, was a demon summoned to slaughter a group of teens responsible for the murder of protagonist Ed Harley's son. Lance Henriksen starred as Harley, with special effects supervisor Tom Woodruff Jr. playing the grotesque creature.
While Pumpkinhead failed to smash box office records, the film has become a cult classic in the years since its release. Three sequels -- the direct-to-video Pumpkin II: Blood Wings and the made-for-TV Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes and Pumpkinhead: Blood Feud -- were released between 1994 and 2007.
News of a Pumpkinhead reboot was first reported in 2017, with Saw franchise executive producer Peter Block obtaining the rights and writer Nate Atkins working on the script.
For one of the relatively lesser-known horror creatures of the '80s, Pumpkinhead has popped up in several other mediums. In the world of video games, for example, a first-person shooter titled Bloodwings: Pumpkinhead's Revenge was released in 1995 by Electronic Arts, receiving middling reviews.
Dark Horse Comics also published two issues of a series entitled Pumpkinhead: The Rites of Exorcism in 1993. While the series meant to stretch four issues and was left unfinished, Dynamite Entertainment picked up the torch in 2018 with the publication of a five-issue series simply titled Pumpkinhead, written by Cullen Bunn (Harrow County, X-Men: Blue) and illustrated by Blacky Shepherd (ReAnimator, Vampirella vs. ReAnimator) and Kyle Strahm (Spread, Unearth). Issue #1 featured a variant cover by Kelley Jones, known for his horror work on characters ranging from Batman -- in the Elseworlds Batman: Vampire trilogy -- to Frankenstein's monster, who Jones brought to life in the finale of IDW's Frankenstein Alive, Alive, which was also artist Bernie Wrightson's last work before he passed away in 2017.
Paramount Players has yet to reveal a release date for its Pumpkinhead film reboot.
Source: Bloody Disgusting