Welcome to “This Week in Horror,” HitFix's ongoing series that rounds up the most pertinent fright-genre news to break over the last seven days. In this week's edition: Ryan Murphy's latest anthology series casts a pint-sized Mariah Carey, a beloved '90s series may be coming back and, yes, another unnecessary remake is in the works.
1. Lea Michele and Ariana Grande may be forced to share a soundstage, God help us
The “Glee” star and the diminutive pop idol have joined Jamie Lee Curtis and Emma Roberts in Ryan Murphy's latest anthology series, which has also signed on “True Blood” bear magnet Joe Mangianello, permanently scowly former child actor Abigail Breslin and fictional spelling bee champion Keke Palmer.
Season 1 of the 15 episode horror-comedy will be set on a college campus that's been rocked by a series of murders. It's slated to premiere this fall on FOX.
#2 The “Blob” remake we've all been screaming for is FINALLY HAPPENING
Horror fans know that the 1958 drive-in schlockfest was already remade in 1988 by director Chuck Russell (see above), but the human-devouring outer space slime is now set to return to theaters with the help of director Simon West (“Con Air,” “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”), who once won a Santa Fe Film Critics Circle award for Worst Movie. This is gonna be great, you guys.
[Variety]
#3 A Universal Monster (kind of, but not really) gets a pilot order from FOX
The network announced they've greenlit a “Frankenstein” pilot with the logline: “Ray Pritchard, a morally corrupt retired cop, is given a second chance at life when he is brought back from the dead. Now younger and stronger, Pritchard will have to choose between his old temptations and his new sense of purpose.” So, you know, totally a straightforward translation of Mary Shelley's novel.
#4 “Sleepy Hollow” is 'calibrating'
During FOX's panel at the TCA Winter Press Tour, network TV chairman Dana Walden noted that the Headless Horseman reimagining, currently suffering from a dip in the ratings, will return to more “episodic” storytelling after a Season 2 that saw a more serialized structure. “This is all about calibrating the show, not making dramatic changes,” she said. By the way? They haven't even renewed it yet.
[EW]
#5 Even more “Frankenstein”(ish)
ITV is also capitalizing on the flat-topped monstrosity's famous name with a new six-part series entitled “The Frankenstein Chronicles,” which this week revealed its full cast including Anna Maxwell Martin, Charlie Creed-Miles, Ed Stoppard, Elliot Cowan and Hugh O”Conor. The actors will star opposite former “Game of Thrones” thesp Sean Bean, set to play a 19th century London detective who you just know is gonna die as he hunts down the perpetrator of a gruesome crime.
[ITV]
#6 Have you seen the new “Walking Dead” Season 5 trailer? Yeah, I'd never heard of this show either.
#7 Mulder and Scully are ramping up for more sexual tension
We love our '90s nostalgia, don't we? Word out of TCA this week is that FOX is in the very early stages of rebooting beloved Chris Carter sci-fi/horror series “The X-Files,” which Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny are supposedly on board for. #XFiles2015 all night long.
#8 Stanley Tucci has rabies
The “Hunger Games” star, who is literally in everything, has signed on to play an evil professor in “Patient Zero,” about a rabies super-strain that results in the evolution of a violent new species. My favorite Stanley Tucci horror film? “Jury Duty.”
#9 This “Hannibal” trailer will eat your face
“Hannibal” Season 3 is premiering this summer, and oh look, they've released an ominous new trailer for it! I haven't tuned in to this yet, but I think we can all agree that Hugh Dancy is the hottest Will Graham.
#10 Anthology horror, with two identical chromosomes
Jennifer Lynch (“Surveillance”), Mary Harron (“American Psycho”), Karyn Kusama (“Jennifer's Body”) and Jovanka Vuckovic (“Jacqueline Ess”) made a horror anthology movie called “XX” (get it?) and it's all about girl power. And carnage. And lipstick, I guess. Loving this poster, which is also probably a Kat Von D tattoo.