Of all the strange passion projects of recent years, there might not be a stranger one than Rob Zombie’s The Munsters. Zombie, known in the world of film as a director of gory, intense, and incredibly dark horror movies like The Devil’s Rejects and the 2007 Halloween remake, is apparently also the world’s biggest fan of The Munsters, the goofy slapstick sitcom from the 1960s about a family love lovable monsters.
For years, Zombie has apparently wanted to make his own version of The Munsters, and Universal and the Peacock streaming service finally gave him the chance. He dove into the project with relish, constantly updating fans on his progress with an endless stream of Instagram posts from the sets in Budapest, highlight the film’s cast, along with its ultra-faithful recreation of the original characters’ costumes, and the Munsters’ famous house at 1313 Mockingbird Lane.
Today, Universal released the first teaser for the film, which is practically a shot-for-shot remake of the original Munsters opening credits, complete with the classic Munsters theme song. It makes it pretty clear that if you were expecting Zombie to turn The Munsters into a stereotypical Rob Zombie movie full of blood and guts, you were mistaken. (Zombie has already said, this is not an R-rated reimagining; it’s a PG-rated tribute.)
That’s Jeff Daniel Phillips as Herman Munster, Daniel Roebuck as Grandpa Munster, and Sheri Moon Zombie as Lily Munster. For sake of comparison, here is the vintage opening credits to The Munsters from its original run on CBS. This is a level of devotion that is kind of mind-boggling. Rob Zombie really loves The Munsters! But does anyone else? That is the big question.
The Munsters will premiere in theaters and on Peacock this fall.
