James Wan’s Upcoming Horror Remake Can Finally Break A 20-Year-Old Sitcom Curse

Summary James Wan is developing a dark remake of The Munsters titled 1313.

This could be the first television project in the franchise to actually come to fruition after several failed attempts since 2004.

James Wan's 1313 could blend well with the modern horror trend of the "social thriller."

The upcoming The Munsters reboot produced by James Wan could break a 20-year-old sitcom curse. Although Wan is a prolific producer, he is best known as the director that kicked off the major horror franchises Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring in addition to helming Furious 7, Aquaman, and Aquaman 2. As a producer, he has largely overseen titles in the horror genre, including the viral killer doll movie M3GAN, the Netflix slasher There's Someone Inside Your House, and the Prime Video reboot series I Know What You Did Last Summer.

It was recently announced that Wan was in development on a Munsters reboot titled 1313. The project has been described as a "darker reimagining" of the property, though no further plot details or casting announcements were revealed at the time. The show is set to be run by Lindsey Anderson Beer, who was previously best known for writing and directing the Stephen King prequel Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, though she is also the co-writer of the upcoming photorealistic Disney remake Bambi, which is set to premiere in 2025.

Related 10 Best Sitcoms That Were Turned Into Movies Sitcoms and iconic TV shows often lend themselves to being reimagined as movies for the silver screen.

James Wan Can Finally Make A Worthwhile Remake Of The Munsters After 20 Years Of Attempts

A Munsters Television Reboot Has Consistently Failed To Happen

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Although 2022 saw the release of Rob Zombie's The Munsters, a live-action prequel movie, so far there has been no movement on a proper television reboot of the show in some time. The last time the characters have graced the small screen in an episodic format was in the color series The Munsters Today, which aired for three seasons between 1988 and 1991. Although various attempts have been made to return the show to television in the meantime, they have all failed. Below, see a breakdown of the Munsters reboots that have so far been unable to come to fruition:

Title Key Creatives Announcement Date Untitled Munsters Movie Keenen Ivory Wayans (Writer-Producer), Shawn Wayans (Writer-Producer), and Marlon Wayans (Writer-Producer) August 2004 Mockingbird Lane Bryan Fuller (Writer-Creator), Jerry O'Connell (Star - Herman Munster), Portia de Rossi (Star - Lily Munster), Eddie Izzard (Star - Grandpa) January 2012 Modern-Day New York-Set Munsters Reboot Seth Myers (Developer) August 2017

Of the three Munsters movies and TV shows that have capsized, only one made it to the air in any form. That would be Bryan Fuller's Mockingbird Lane, which had a pilot shot before creative differences led to it not getting picked up to series. The pilot, which also starred Charity Wakefield, Mason Cook, Beth Grant, and John Kassir, premiered on NBC as a Halloween special in October 2012. While it remains to be seen if the Wan project gains traction, it could very well finally become the first of these projects to get a proper series order.

Why James Wan's Dark Approach To The Munsters Remake Is A Good Idea

The Munsters Is Well Suited For A Modern Horror Trend

While all three The Munsters reboot shows, in addition to the movie, had different takes on the material, Wan's darker reboot could very well strike gold. The original series held many subtextual parallels to the treatment of non-white families in American suburbia, something that the new remake could accentuate and treat with more nuance. If this were to be the case, it could follow in the footsteps of the ongoing "social thriller" trend that had a boom in the wake of the success of Jordan Peele's Oscar-winning horror hit Get Out.