After several previous attempts to develop a Something is Killing the Children series, the popular horror comic is being adapted for both the big and small screens.
Last year, we learned that Blumhouse nabbed the rights to the Boom! Studios comic by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera, and had plans in place to develop the franchise simultaneously as a live-action feature film and as an adult animated television series, with the TV adaptation to be shepherded by Tynion.
“It’s easy to see why audiences and critics alike have praised Something is Killing the Children,” said Blum in a statement at the time. “James and Werther’s comic book series taps into our most primal fears, luring us into a fascinating world and introducing Erica Slaughter, the ass-kicking hero we all wish we had to fight the monsters that lurk in the dark.”
“Something is Killing the Children is the comic book that changed my life and career forever,” added Tynion. “Finding a partner who understood the potential of Erica Slaughter and the world Werther Dell’Edera and I have built was crucial, and we have found that partner in Jason Blum. Nobody understands horror better than Blumhouse, and I can’t wait for the world to see what we all have planned together.”
During last night's Blumfest panel at NYCC, it was announced that Craig Zobel (The Penguin, Compliance, The Hunt) will direct.
Zobel promised that the script will feature “firehoses of blood“, while Tynion added, “we rip a kid in half in the first issue…I promise you, there are kids who die in the script."
The comics tell the grim tale of "a town plagued by monsters that feast on children, with one teen survivor telling tales that no adult believes. Into this setting enters a mysterious young woman named Erica Slaughter. The woman, who occasionally converses with her stuffed animal, isn’t there to mince words but rather to mince monsters."
A previous adaptation of SIKTC from The Haunting of Hill House and Doctor Sleep team Trevor Macy and Mike Flanagan was in the works back in 2021, but the duo parted ways with the project over creative differences. More recently, Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, the German creators of cult series Dark and 1899, were enlisted to develop a series adaptation for Netflix, but the streamer opted not to move forward.
Blum will produce the live-action feature for Blumhouse with the company’s Shaun Sutton and Ryan Turek serving as executive producers. Stephen Christy and Tynion will produce the film for Boom! Studios/Penguin Random House. Adam Yoelin and Mette Norkjaer will also executive produce. Series co-creator Dell’Edera will act as co-producer.