are you afraid of the dark

Nickelodeon’s 90s-era fright-fest ‘Are You Afraid of the Dark?’ anthology series is getting a big screen reboot with a major horror pedigree.  Gary Dauberman, writer of ‘It’ and its upcoming sequel, the two ‘Annabelle’ movies, and the upcoming ‘The Nun’ is attached to pen the script.

‘Are You Afraid of the Dark?’ originally aired as part of Nickelodeon’s Friday night ‘Teen Nick’ block from 1992-96.  Each episode was bookended by a gathering of teens called the Midnight Society who would gather around a campfire to share scary stories, which were then enacted for viewers at home.  The Canadian series was created by D.J. MacHale and Ned Kandel.  It was briefly revived in 1999.  This show predated the more famous ‘Goosebumps’ which premiered in 1995.  ‘Goosebumps’ was adapted into a feature film in 2015 with a sequel in the works.

Among the aspiring thespians to appear on the show were Aaron Ashmore, Jay Baruchel, Neve Campbell, Hayden Christensen, Elisha Cuthbert, Will Friedle, Ryan Gosling, Melissa Joan Hart, Tyler Labine, Tamera Mowry, Tia Mowry, Gregory Smith, Jewel Staite, Eddie K. Thomas and Emily VanCamp. Notable adult guest stars included Charles S. Dutton, Colin Ferguson, Bobcat Golthwait, Frank Gorshin and Gilbert Gottfried.

Brian Robbins
Shutterstock

Longtime Nick producer Brian Robbins, co-creator of ‘All That’, ‘The Amanda Show’, ‘Kenan and Kel’, ‘The Nick Cannon Show’ and more, heads up Paramount Players, the division moving forward with this adaptation.  In addition to his Nick work, Robbins served as producer/executive producer for shows like ‘Smallville’ and ‘One Tree Hill’. He directed the films ‘Good Burger’, ‘Varsity Blues’, ‘The Shaggy Dog’ and more.

The Paramount Players is dedicated to creating entertainment for and created by modern young people while drawing from Viacom’s vast library, which includes Nickelodeon among others.  Other projects in the works is a feature based on ‘Dora the Explorer’.

‘Are You Afraid of the Dark?’ will be produced by Matthew Kaplan (‘You Get Me’, ‘Before I Fall’).  In recent years, in addition to his film work, Kaplan has worked frequently with YouTubers such as Todrick Hall and Tyler Oakley.  Considering that YouTubers are the celebrities for today’s young people, he should be a perfect fit for the Paramount Players’ mission.

This project has just been announced and there is no script yet, so there is no expected release date.  Check back for more information as it becomes available.

Are you excited to see this Nick classic returning for a new generation on the big screen?

Source: Variety