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Robert Eggers Is Set To Write And Write The Sequel To Labyrinth

Today, it was announced that Robert Eggers has signed on to direct and write a sequel to the Jim Henson 1986 classic Labyrinth.



Article Summary

  • Robert Eggers will direct and write a sequel to Jim Henson's 1986 classic film, Labyrinth.
  • Eggers collaborates with Sjón on the script, with production by Chris and Eleanor Columbus and Lisa Henson.
  • The sequel has been in development hell for nearly a decade with previous directors attached.
  • Despite its initial lukewarm reception, Labyrinth became a cult classic with a dedicated fanbase.

Well, this news is a bit all over the place. Yesterday, it was confirmed that director Robert Eggers would be reteaming with Focus Features to try and make the goth horror Christmas Day lightning strike again with Werwulf. All that sounded interesting enough and pretty much on track with what we have expected from Eggers so far in his career. Today's announcement is the polar opposite of that. After two different directors and stumbling around the circles of development hell for eight years, Deadline has announced that Eggers has signed to direct the sequel to Labyrinth. He is also writing the script with Sjón, whom he also worked with on The Northman, and he is reteaming with for Werwulf as well. Chris and Eleanor Columbus will produce alongside Lisa Henson, with Brian Henson executive producing, and we don't have any plot details aside from sources saying, "The film is a sequel to, rather than a remake of, Jim Henson's 1986 classic."

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Robert Eggers arrives for "The Northman" Hollywood Premiere on April 18, 2022 in Hollywood, CA. Editorial credit: DFree / Shutterstock.com

The sequel to Labyrinth is another one of those sequel concepts that has been floating around Hollywood for a while now. The first film, released by TriStar in 1986, was not exactly a hit at the box office, grossing $34 million on a budget of $25 million. However, it became a cult classic that managed to find an audience on home release that has kept it alive and going ever since. People still host screenings of this film to this day, and people still cosplay and dress up as these characters. It's beloved by a certain generation of people, which is why this proposed sequel is probably going to piss them off.

The first version of a Labyrinth sequel was first really floated around in 2016, so we're looking at yet another decade-long development cycle; unlike other films that have had development cycles that long, this one had a bunch of false starts that probably set some people back a pretty penny. Since 2016, both Fede Álvarez and Scott Derrickson were each, at one point, signed on to direct the project from a script reportedly by Nicole Perlman. The final version of the Derrickson film seemed to fall apart in late 2023 after three years of trying to get it off the ground. All of this work means Sony is heading into this film in the red, more than likely, which is never a good way to start.


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Kaitlyn BoothAbout Kaitlyn Booth

Kaitlyn is the Editor-in-Chief at Bleeding Cool. Film critic and pop culture writer since 2013. Ace. Leftist. Nerd. Feminist. Writer. Replicant Translator. Cinephillic Virtue Signaler. She/Her. UFCA/GALECA Member. 🍅 Approved. Follow her Threads, Instagram, and Twitter @katiesmovies.
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