Paramount+ is set to release a prequel to Pet Sematary later this year, with screenwriter Lindsey Beer sitting in the director’s chair. The new film is said to be set prior to the events of the original 1983 Stephen King story, taking place well before the Creed family moves into their new home.
It’s possible the prequel focuses on Jud Crandall’s character, detailing the gruesome story that Jud tells Louis Creed, about a man who buried his son in the pet sematary after he was killed in World War II. Jackson White (Ambulance) has been cast as a younger Crandall, so we do know the character is in the film. Joining White in the cast are Natalie Alyn Lind (The Gifted), Pam Grier, Glen Gould (Outlander), and Jack Mulhern (Mare of Easttown).
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In an interview with Consequence of Sound, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura said:
“I think if there’s anything here, there’s a prequel. I think if you look at the book, we didn’t cover all that stuff that happens before the Creed family moves in. So, I think there’s a movie there, and I think I’d be particularly interested in doing that, because, again, it’s the source material and you are going toward something that also has a lot of crazy, creepy feelings about it.”
Pet Sematary was adapted for the screen in 1989 by Mary Lambert, and again in 2019 by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer. We don’t currently know which of the adaptations the new film will be a prequel for, but the 2019 version didn’t go into much detail about Crandall’s past regarding the cursed ground.
Though Lindsey Beer is relatively new to the industry, she has already been signed on to write screenplays for other major franchise projects, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Short Circuit, and Star Trek.
No trailer or release date have been announced for the new Pet Sematary film, as the post-production process was just started, however, we’ll be sure to keep you updated as we find out more.
