Last month, I reported that Joel Schumacher's 1987 hair-metal vampire flick The Lost Boys was finally getting the sequel it deserved…in comic book form. Now, it appears the franchise may be sinking its fangs into television as well, as Deadline is reporting (and HitFix has confirmed) that a small-screen adaptation of the cult horror-comedy from Veronica Mars and iZombie creator Rob Thomas is now in development at the CW.
Here's the logline:
“Based on the iconic 1987 film, this re-imagining looks at vampires through a new lens, asking the question: What does it really mean to be immortal? The series will tell a story spanning 70 years, each decade a new season. Each season, the humans, the setting, the antagonist and the story all change – only the vampires, our Lost Boys, remain the same. Season one will be set in San Francisco during the Summer of Love, 1967.”
Thomas seems to be a good fit for the material, as he's already proven his adeptness at tackling the horror-comedy genre with the critically-acclaimed iZombie, which also airs on the CW. Additionally, I like that the show is taking a totally different approach with the material, treating it as a semi-anthology as we move through the decades with the titular vampire gang. It's a fun premise with a lot of visual and thematic possibilities.
The original Lost Boys followed two brothers (Corey Haim and Jason Patric) as they adjusted to life in a quirky beach community — only to discover that the town was overrun with vampires. A moderate hit on release, the film was followed by two belated — and critically drubbed — direct-to-DVD sequels in 2008 and 2010.
It's worth noting that the CW previously struck bloodsucker paydirt with The Vampire Diaries, which is heading into its eighth and final season this fall.