Deadline reveals that Dennis the Menace is returning to the small screen, with Beano Studios developing a Young Adult adaptation of the iconic British comic book character. Matthew Berry, one of the writers of Netflix's The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, has written the pilot, and the company is in talks with U.S. studio partners to get involved with the live-action project.
If you've ever read The Beano, then you'll know that Dennis is a mischievous kid who, along with his dog Gnasher, torments local wimp Walter and the people who live in his town.
This script, however, is taking things in a very different direction. "The tone of the pilot script is understood to be much darker than the original with Dennis believed to be a teenager, around the age of 16, and flitting in and out of trouble with the police," the trade reveals. "[One] source told Deadline that the remake has a tone that is similar to British drama Skins."
There have been a number of takes on Dennis the Menace over the years. In the UK, those have tended to be animated shows, though in the U.S., there was a live-action movie and TV series.
Beano Studios is looking to take advantage of its 2000+ characters, with character like Minnie the Minx, The Bash Street Kids, Roger the Dodger, and Billy Whizz among the many possibilities. Time will tell how this project pans out, and who else will follow Dennis to the small screen, but it's an exciting time to be a fan of The Beano...assuming you weren't banking on faithful adaptations!
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