For a number of years now, Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s ‘Locke & Key‘ has been close to receiving a live-action adaptation. As far back as 2008, various movie studios such as Dimension Films, Universal, and Dreamworks tried to develop the story of a family that discovers magical keys that open strange doors for the big screen. Although when it landed at 20th Century Fox, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman reworked it into a TV show for the Fox network. Though they screened the pilot at the 2011 San Diego Comic Con, it ultimately didn’t move past the pilot phase. MTV took a stab at it as well, but nothing materialized there either. Now it appears that Hill is trying to bring his acclaimed supernatural comic series to the small screen once again.
According to Deadline, IDW Entertainment is currently working on a new iteration of ‘Locke & Key’ with creator Hill writing the pilot and executive producing. The company is keeping the project in house as their publishing division is responsible for the books, but they’re also working with Circle of Confusion to make it happen before shopping it around to networks. The production company is responsible for such feature films as ‘American Ultra’, ‘Straight Outta Compton’, and ‘Saint John of Las Vegas’, but their work on other comic adaptations such as ‘The Walking Dead’, ‘Outcast’, and ‘Powers’ definitely show that they’re more than capable for the job.
On the announcement that he’s returning to the world of Nina Locke and her three children, Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode, Hill expressed that he’s excited to revisit his beloved characters. He also mentioned that his story is already tailor made for television:
“I love this story. The seven years I spent working on ‘Locke & Key’ was the happiest creative experience of my life and there still isn’t a day when I don’t think about those characters and miss visiting with them. The six books of the series are very like six seasons of a cable TV series and so it feels only natural to bring that world to the little screen and to see if we can’t scare the pants off viewers everywhere.”
What do you think about IDW Entertainment teaming with Joe Hill to bring ‘Locke & Key’ to TV? Do you think that they will be successful this time around? Sound off in the comments.
Despite being a “professional writer”, Ben likes run-on sentences and puns far too much. For more of his attempts at being funny and the occasional insightful thought, follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
