Fans of killer puppets have reason to cheer this morning. This past weekend at Texas Frightmare a new Puppet Master film was announced.
Di Bonaventura Pictures (1408, TRANSFORMERS) and Caliber Media (DARK WAS THE NIGHT, SOME KIND OF HATE) partnered up to option the rights to develop a brand new take on Charles Band’s cult classic horror film franchise PUPPET MASTER. With the intention to produce multiple storylines within this new universe, the producers have set S. Craig Zahler (BONE TOMAHAWK) to write the first script entitled PUPPET MASTER: THE LITTLEST REICH and expand the mythology, and the director’s search is quietly underway.
So what can fans, old and new, expect of the restart of this franchise? First a little history lesson and then some news on the story that Zahler is drumming up.
The original PUPPET MASTER is an American horror film franchise that focuses on a group of anthropomorphic puppets animated by an Egyptian spell, each equipped with their own unique and dangerous device and are represented as heroes, anti-heroes, and antagonists. Produced by Band and his Full Moon Features label, the series was established in 1989 with the eponymous first installment, which has since been followed by numerous sequels, comic books, collector's items and toys.
Zahler’s completely new take on PUPPET MASTER maintains all of the brutally inventive puppet kills infused with the comedic tendencies that made the original franchise so popular with fans, while expanding upon Toulon’s backstory and developing richer dialogue, characters, and narratives.
The storyline for THE LITTLEST REICH follows a recently divorced young man who discovers a mint condition Blade doll in his deceased brother’s closet and plans to sell the toy at a convention in Oregon celebrating the 30th anniversary of the infamous Toulon Murders. All hell breaks loose at the Postville Lodge during the auction when a strange force animates all of the various puppets throughout the convention as they go on a bloody killing spree.
We will keep you posted as production moves along. Above is the first teaser art for the new project.