M. Night Shyamalan’s hotly anticipated Tales From The Crypt reboot has been gestating at TNT for quite some time, but according to a new report from Bloody Disgusting, the latest setback might be the proverbial nail in the, er, coffin.
A source told the online fanboy emporium that issues with the series’ budget have been the major reason for delays. The network later confirmed that what it all boils down to is the complicated matter of who owns the rights to the source material, which was originally a comic book, and then a series on HBO.
“The underlying rights to this classic, vintage property are complicated,” it said. “TNT and others have been pursuing a solution for more than a year, with significant progress being made. We look forward to the potential for further active development of this valuable franchise once the clearance process is fully resolved.”
In April, it was announced that Shyamalan would be executive producing the 10-episode season of the classic horror anthology, which was hosted by the titular crypt keeper. Because of the aforementioned rights issues, a new crypt keeper was going to have to be developed, something TNT and TBS President Kevin Reilly commented on a few months ago.
“The rights on this are just a disaster,” he said at the time. “It’s been a mess trying to sort out. There are so many people that seem to have an ownership position on this. So yeah, that’s both a creative and legal thing.”
While the series has yet to be officially canceled, a 2018 premiere (if there is a premiere at all) is more likely.
