The 1982 horror film Poltergeist is being revived yet again. This time, however, it looks like Poltergeist will be making its way to the small screen as a television series.
It’s been reported via Variety that a Poltergeist TV series is now in the works. The series is said to be in “early development” at Amazon MGM Studios, with the knowledge that the series “will be set within the world of the film.”
Other details regarding the project are scarce, though it’s been stated that Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey will executive produce on behalf of Amblin Television. Fans will recall that Steven Spielberg’s Amblin was involved with the production of the original 1982 film.
Additionally, Spielberg was involved with the film’s screenplay and he acted as a producer on the film. Of course, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre director Tobe Hooper handled directorial duties, having come to the film fresh off his work on The Funhouse. The two collaborators brought a unique style to the original film, something that was lacking in its two sequels, Poltergeist II: The Other Side and Poltergeist III.
The Poltergeist franchise previously made the jump to television in 1996 for the TV series Poltergeist: The Legacy. The series ran for several seasons until 1999 after making the leap to the Syfy Channel (at that time The Sci-Fi Channel). It also bore little resemblance to the original film trilogy, with no real continuity to speak of. Hopefully this new series will take advantage of the rich lore at its disposal.
A Poltergeist remake was previously released in 2015 as well. However, this film did not fare well with fans, and now it’s clear that Amazon MGM is hoping to disregard it altogether for this new iteration. As such, we’ll have to see what they plan to do with the IP going forward.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates regarding the Poltergeist TV series and the rest of the horror genre as we have them. For now, it’s exciting to see the Poltergeist brand back on its feet, especially if this new series ties in with the original classic.