Rob Zombie’s feature film adaptation of The Munsters is officially in the works, and while not a lot of information has yet been revealed, let’s go over everything we know about the project so far. Back in March, the website Murphy’s Multiverse published a report that Zombie was set to develop a Munsters movie for Universal. It was also noted in the report that production was set to begin in Budapest in May.
With nothing else to go on at the time, it was best to take the rumor with a grain of salt. However, Zombie has since confirmed the rumors after months of silence. In June, he took to Instagram to reveal that the rumors were true and that he was indeed making the movie. The 3 from Hell director also shared the film’s official logo, which is our only “look” at the movie so far.
Posted June 7, Zombie’s Instagram post read, “Attention Boils and Ghouls! The rumors are true! My next film project will be the one I’ve been chasing for 20 years! THE MUNSTERS! Stay tuned for exciting details as things progress!”
With the cat out of the bag, the director has been a bit more open about the project since. In another Instagram post shortly after the official reveal, Zombie can be seen hanging out with original Eddie Munster actor Butch Patrick, as the two took a ride in the Koach to celebrate the news. He has since flown out to Hungary to scout potential filming locations in Budapest and has been posting photos of some of the creepy castles and other sites he’s been looking at.
Now let’s talk about the cast. Although the production start date was off, the original Murphy’s Multiverse report was right about the project shooting in Budapest. This would suggest that the casting information in that report may also be legitimate, though it’s worth noting that the film is still in early pre-production and plans could always change.
According to the report, Sheri Moon Zombie is set to star as Lily Munster with Jeff Daniel Phillips co-starring as her husband, Herman Munster. Richard Brake and Dan Roebuck, two actors who also frequently appear in Zombie’s films, are also reportedly cast in “major roles” alongside Lost star Jorge Garcia. Meanwhile, Cassandra “Elvira” Peterson is said to be cast in a “supporting role.”
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None of these names are officially confirmed for the cast at this time, though it seems to be a given that Sheri Moon will be involved. On June 30, she teased the film by posting an image on Facebook of herself in the Koach with a prop Eddie Munster in the back. She also provided an update, letting her followers know that the film is in the early stages of development so there won’t be a trailer anytime soon.
“Seeing folks ask when a trailer is coming out – the film is in pre-production, currently being location scouted so nothing to show for a while yet,” the actress wrote.
A possible release date hasn’t been revealed, but there are unconfirmed rumors that the project could be heading straight to NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock, possibly with a simultaneous release in theaters. As we’re halfway through this year and filming hasn’t even started yet on The Munsters, it would seem that the film is likely to arrive sometime in 2022.
It also remains to be seen if Zombie’s film will be more lighthearted in tone compared to his other movies, comparable to the actual television series. This would be new territory for Rob, but as he comes into the project as a lifelong fan of The Munsters, he might prefer to stay faithful to the source material rather than going for his usual hard R-rating. In any case, Rob Zombie is keeping his followers fairly well updated on the progress of The Munsters on Instagram. Stay tuned for more updates.
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