It seems as though Jack Black may return for ‘Goosebumps: Slappy’s Revenge’, but in voice only. Black appeared in the flesh in the first ‘Goosebumps’ film as a fictionalized version of writer R.L. Stine, but also voiced the film’s main ghoul, Slappy the ventriloquist dummy, even though he was uncredited. The latest report about the sequel indicates that Black will return to voice Slappy, but there is no mention of him portraying Stine.
It also appears that the youthful cast is being completely replaced. The synopsis mentions that the protagonists in ‘Slappy’s Revenge’ are a 17-year-old named Sarah, her brother Sonny and his best friend Sam. The first film featured Dylan Minnette (’13 Reasons Why’) as Zach, Ryan Lee (‘Brockmire’) as Champ and Odeya Rush (‘Lady Bird’) as Stine’s daughter Hannah. This is the synopsis for ‘Slappy’s Revenge’:
Three friends must stop Slappy the dummy from starting the Halloween apocalypse.
There is also a mention of Nikola Tesla, but it isn’t clear how he factors in.
The first film was well-received, but not a massive blockbuster. It looks as though Sony might be cheaping out a bit with this new installment, using just Black’s voice and a cast of unknown youngsters. The new film is due to begin production in February to be released this October, which is quite a crunch, but it could work if the film isn’t too elaborate and doesn’t require much post-production. It appears that the script is ready to go, though, so that helps. Ari Sandel is attached to direct.
‘Slappy’s Revenge’ was previously known as ‘Goosebumps: Horrorland’ and was based in a haunted theme park. But opening on the exact same October 12 date this fall, is Lionsgate’s ‘Hellfest’ an adult-targeted slasher flick ALSO set at a theme park. It’s unclear if ‘Hellfest’ caused Sony to switch gears, but it is known that they had a couple of different ‘Goosebumps’ sequel scripts in the works.
For now, ‘Goosebumps: Slappy’s Revenge’ is due to be released on October 12, but that may change thanks to this prolonged period of pre-production.
Source: Omega Underground
