‘Dr. Strange’s Scott Derrickson Set To Direct A Sequel To Jim Henson Classic ‘Labyrinth’
‘Dr. Strange’ director Scott Derrickson has landed a new gig as director of a sequel to Jim Henson’s classic movie ‘Labyrinth’ it has been announced.
The original movie was released in 1986, and starred Jennifer Connelly as Sarah, a teenager with an active imagination, frustrated with babysitting on yet another weekend night, who wishes the Goblins from her favourite fantasy book, “The Labyrinth”, would take her baby halfbrother away. When little Toby actually disappears, Sarah must follow him into a fantastical world to rescue him from the Goblin King, Jareth, played by the iconic David Bowie. Guarding his castle is the labyrinth itself, a twisted maze of deception, populated with outrageous characters and unknown dangers. To get through it in time to save Toby, Sarah befriends the Goblins, in hopes that their loyalty isn’t just another illusion in a place where nothing is as it seems.
‘The Muppets’ master Jim Henson directed the original movie with George Lucas as executive producer. Derrickson will direct the new film, with Brian Henson, son of Jim and current Jim Henson Company chairman (and puppeteer of Hoggle in the original film), exec producing. Lisa Henson, daughter of Jim and CEO of JHC, will produce the movie. Derrickson will also exec produce along with frequent collaborator C. Robert Cargill, and Blanca Lista, VP of Feature Film Production for JHC.
The script for the new film comes from Maggie Levin, who has previously written on the Hulu series ‘Into the Dark’. “Major thanks to everyone for the outpouring of love today,” commented Levin on Twitter. “‘It’s a dream come true’ is a massive understatement, but, that’s truly what it is… And now, back to work.”
Along with directing ‘Dr. Strange’, Derrickson previously directed the films ‘Sinister’, ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’ and ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’. He walked away from directing the ‘Dr. Strange’ sequel due to the old “creative differences”.
There is no release date yet for the ‘Labyrinth’ sequel, but we’ll let you know when we hear more.
