Can Sleepaway Camp work for modern audiences? We’re about to find out.
AFA, the production company of “Saturday Night Live” stalwart Kenan Thompson and producer Johnny Ryan Jr. (Bill & Ted Face the Music, Good Burger 2), has acquired remake rights to the 1983 slasher, Deadline reports.
Robert Hiltzik, who wrote and directed the original cult classic, is back at the helm to direct from his own screenplay.
Development on the script is currently underway. Plot details have not been revealed, but Ryan Jr. promises, “We’re staying true to the OG story while Robert adding in some insane new twists.”
As Deadline notes, “While for decades, Hiltzik and his wife have been approached for rights to the franchise, they’ve held out in hopes of a scenario where they can be involved in revitalizing the franchise. To Thompson and Ryan Jr., whose AFA places an emphasis on keeping creative control and ownership with the artist, keeping the original architects of the franchise at the forefront of its evolution is a given.”
Robinson Velasco, Monica Weber, Cory Litwin, and Boris Shvarts will executive produce. Range Select is handling sales on the project.
“I am both thrilled and humbled to be working with AFA on the reimagined Sleepaway Camp,” Hiltzik told Deadline. “Though I have been approached by several companies regarding the remake of Sleepaway Camp, only AFA has shared my vision and is excited to have me helm the film, therefore preserving the integrity of the original film for the fans, as well as introducing Sleepaway Camp to a whole new generation. Be prepared for a new member of the Sleepaway Camp family.”
“Excited to work with the original genius Robert and bring back to life a camp classic!” said Thompson.
“Kenan and I always say we’re fans first and this couldn’t be more on brand for us,” added Ryan Jr. “I’ve been obsessed with the Sleepaway Camp franchise since I was a kid. We’ve wanted this title for 20 years, and we’re over the moon Robert came back to write it.”
Thompson recently executive produced the horror-comedy Halloween Store, currently in post-production.
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