ThePet Semataryremake is officially happening and Paramount Pictures has locked down a release date. The studio has officially dated the upcoming re-adaptation of Stephen King’s 1983 novel for June 02, 2025. That means this will be the major studio release coming out on Easter weekend that year, which should be fun forhorror fans. Especially in regards to the subject matter about resurrection, which ties in nicely to to the holiday. Not so much for those looking for a family-friendly affair, though. Open Road’sPlaymobilis also coming out that weekend.
There have been rumors of aPet Semataryremake brewing for quite some time. But with the success of director Andy Muschietti’sITthis year, studios have been keen to get in on the Stephen King action while the getting is good. Not only didITgo on to become the highest-grossing horror movie ever, with $694 million worldwide, but 2017 has also been the biggest year for horror in history, with movies likeGet Out,Happy Death DayandAnnabelle: Creation, among others, also dominating at the box office this year. So it makes sense that Paramount is eager to get moving withPet Sematary. Interestingly enough,Andy Muschietti had expressed interest in directing this remakehimself, but he ultimately didn’t get the job.
Stephen King’s Pet Sematarywas originally adapted for the big screen in 1989 and, though the movie has its lovers today and is something of a classic in its own right, critics did not love it at the time and it wasn’t a huge financial success. But the $57 million box office was enough to justifyPet Sematary II, which was released in 1992. The follow-up is most definitely not what one would call a beloved sequel and only grossed $17 million. In case you aren’t familiar, the plot of King’s novel is as follows.
“The road in front of Dr. Louis Creed’s rural Maine home frequently claims the lives of neighborhood pets. Louis has recently moved from Chicago to Ludlow with his wife Rachel, their children and pet cat. Near their house, local children have created a cemetery for the dogs and cats killed by the steady stream of transports on the busy highway. Deeper in the woods lies another graveyard, anancient Indian burial groundwhose sinister properties Louis discovers when the family cat is killed.”
Paramount Pictures has tappedKevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer(Starry Eyes) to direct the remake ofPet Cemetery. No casting announcements have been made just yet, but with the release date now locked in, we should be learning more in the near future. In slightly less-splashy news,Paramounthas also dated Mark Wahlberg’sInstant Family, which is now set for release on August 15, 2025. The movie centers on a couple who want to have children and adopt through the foster-care system, only to find themselves raising three wild kids who have no interest in being parented.
