Looks like the Crypt Keeper is staying in his casket. Due to a “complete legal mess,” TNT has decided to cancel M. Night Shyamalan’s reimagining of the classic horror series Tales From the Crypt.
Last year, the network announced plans to have the series to lead a two-hour horror programming block, all curated by Shyamalan. Two new shows, Time of Death and Creatures, were even commissioned to accompany the reboot. The director of the recent Split excited hopeful fans with news of a revamped Crypt Keeper and a leaked trailer for the show.
.@slashfilm I’d never make Tales without the CK! Will be a new take on him as the puppet is property of HBO. Promise he’ll be cool and dark!
— M. Night Shyamalan (@MNightShyamalan) January 9, 2016
However, according to TNT president Kevin Reilly, complicated rights issues have stopped the network from being able to move along with the series: “We lost so much time, so I said, ‘Look, I’m not waiting around four years for this thing,” he said in an interview with Deadline.
Reilly does not seem completely against revisiting the idea, but for now, the horror block has been put on the back burner. Instead, the network is planning to move toward a sci-fi programming block centered around an anthology series produced by Alien director Ridley Scott.
So, for now, fans of the pun-spitting Crypt Keeper will have to keep waiting, but a Scott-produced series is still something to get excited about.