In a surprising announcement via Deadline, Producers Roy Lee and Dan Farah have partnered with producers and rights holders Lawrence Kuppin, David Salzman and Eric Gardner for a TV reimagining of Hellraiser. This comes on the heels of the announcement of a big screen reboot written by David Goyer. It’s unlikely though also unclear if there will be any connection between the two. It would be strange, however, if they both came to pass and were completely unrelated. In a world with two concurrent Child’s Play and Puppet Master franchises, it would certainly not be unheard of either.
The talent on board is promising, as Roy Lee has developed some of the best horror reimaginings in recent years, including Bates Motel, The Exorcist and IT. Dan Farah is also no stranger to dozens of licensed properties, having produced Ready Player One.
According to the press release, the plot is as follows:
Centering on the elegantly Machiavellian antagonist Pinhead and the infamous Lament Configuration (the puzzle box which opens the portal to what appears to be Hell), the series will incorporate the elements of classic Hellraiser mythology while delivering a modern re-imagining of the seminal brand for television.
This is far from the first time that there’s been an attempt to get a Hellraiser TV series off the ground. According to a Clive Barker interview from Sci-Fi Entertainment, talk of bringing Hellraiser to television began in 1995, which he promptly shut down.
Sonar Entertainment (alongside listed producers Larry Kuppin and Eric Gardner) first announced the Hellraiser TV series in 2004, with very little movement at the time. In 2012, there was a lot of buzz surrounding the series. They seemed to make it clear that it would be fast tracked into production and was listed on their slate of upcoming projects. But again, nothing happened.
Very little information was ever given as to what that incarnation of the show would have focused on, except that it would have followed a tabloid journalist seeking to uncover the truth behind an evil plot involving Pinhead and the CEO of a multi-billion dollar software corporation.
It’s unclear if any of that proposed plot will remain the same. With both Kuppin and Gardner still at the helm it could certainly be a possibility. We remain forever excited at the prospect of new Hellraiser, but there have already been so many attempts to bring this universe to television that never panned out, so it makes sense to maintain a healthy skepticism.
No writer, showrunner or network has yet been announced.
