Universal Pictures and Jordan Peele are reteaming for a remake of director Wes Craven's The People Under the Stairs. Peele will produce the remake of the horror-comedy, having previously directed Get Out and Us for the studio.
Released in 1991, Craven's The People Under the Stairs centers on a young boy and two thieves who break into the home of an eccentric couple named the Robesons. While the trio had hoped to steal the couple's rare coin collection, they end up being trapped in the home and make a horrifying discovery in the basement. Partly inspired by a news story involving two burglars who broke into a Los Angeles home and inadvertently led police to discover two children being kept locked away by their parents, The People Under the Stairs was credited for its satirical approach to exploring themes of class warfare, gentrification, and capitalism.
Craven had been developing a People Under the Stairs television series for the Syfy Channel, but the project never moved forward following his death in 2015. Now, Collider reports Peele is set to produce a feature-length remake of the film alongside Win Rosenfeld through their Monkeypaw Productions company. However, Peele is not expected to direct the remake and it is unclear if he will play a role in writing the screenplay at this time. The filmmaker recently co-wrote the screenplay for Universal's Candyman sequel from director Nia DaCosta.
DaCosta's Candyman was originally scheduled to be released in theaters in June 2020 before being delayed on multiple occasions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the horror film is set to debut in theaters on August 27th, 2021. Described as a "spiritual sequel" to the original 1992 film of the same name, DaCosta's Candyman stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as an adult Anthony McCoy, the baby from the first entry in the franchise.
While Peele had been best known for his work in comedy for some time, he has since made a name for himself in the horror genre since directing Get Out, for which he earned the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In addition to Candyman and the upcoming People Under the Stairs remake, Peele produced and narrated a reboot of the horror anthology series The Twilight Zone for CBS All Access.
Meanwhile, Craven's Scream franchise will also be moving forward without the late filmmaker. However, returning star Neve Campbell noted that she gave the project her blessing after conversations with the Scream 5 directors convinced her they were respecting Craven's legacy.
Craven's The People Under the Stairs is now available on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Collider