In some news that admittedly went under our radar over the weekend as we celebrated Halloween, Clive Barker is returning to the realm of Hellraiser.
If you remember, earlier this year saw HBO give the thumbs up for a Hellraiser TV series. And now, Deadline is reporting that the iconic Barker has joined the project as an executive producer. Barker’s 1986 The Hellbound Heart novella was our first introduction into the world of Pinhead and his Cenobites – and that concept was spun into the first Hellraiser movie just a year later.
On this news, Clive Barker enthused, “Delighted the Hellraiser mythology is seeing a new life. It’s time the stories went back to their roots. I’m eager to bring to a new audience the most powerful and ancient elements of horror: the darkest evil invading our human lives and how we must find in ourselves the power to resist it.”
Already, this Hellraiser show has the 2018 Halloween’s David Gordon Green signed on to direct the pilot episode, and Trick r’ Treat’s Michael Dougherty is on writing duties alongside Daredevil’s Mark Verheiden. Green is also executive producing the series with longtime collaborators Jody Hill, Danny McBride, and Brandon James.
From what we’ve heard previously – with the Hellraiser TV rights changing hands earlier this year – this series will maintain the mythology seen in the original Hellraiser films and will look to build on that established canon.
This Hellraiser TV offering won’t have any ties to or knock-on effect on Spyglass’ latest plans for a new Hellraiser movie that director David Brucker and writer David S. Goyer are working on.
To date, there has been ten Hellraiser films, although only the first four were released theatrically; the last of those coming in 1996 with Hellraiser: Inferno. The most recent outing for Pinhead and his Cenobites came just last year in the form of the direct-to-video Hellraiser: Judgment. In addition to those features, the franchise has also included further books, comics, and even a video game.
As ever, expect more on all things Hellraiser as they continue to develop.
