All of Stephen King's stories are unforgettable, as the beloved author has a real knack for crafting chilling tales about relatable people who are stuck in out-of-this-world situations. One of the most well-known Stephen King books is Pet Sematary, and after the book was published in 1983, King wrote the screenplay for the 1989 film adaptation.
After a remake was released in 2019, news came out that there would be a Pet Sematary prequel. While fans are always happy to see a new movie based on a book by King, since there is such a rich catalogue of material to draw from, is adding another film to this world necessary? While the story of the Creed family finding that pets can come back from the dead is smart and freaky, a prequel focusing on a young Jud Crandall might not need to happen.
While the 1989 Pet Sematary is the most terrifying Stephen King movie, there are some problems with the 2019 Pet Sematary sequel, which makes it hard to know how good the prequel film will be. Prequels often give extra information and explanation to an already popular and interesting story, but that isn't always necessary with a Stephen King story. For example, in King's beloved book 11/22/63, the main character Jake meets Al, a diner owner, who tells him that there's a portal in the pantry, and readers accept this because magical and strange things happen in a work by Stephen King. Is there any necessary answer besides "it's supernatural?" Fans accept what's going on because it's a King story.
In 2019, Jeff Buhler, who wrote the 2019 remake, talked to Comicbook.com about writing another film set in this world. Buhler said, "We had discussions about possible follow-up films, and for the most part, everybody feels like we've told the story of the Creeds. It's difficult, there are ways to continue this story, this particular story, but it feels almost, the trajectory of this film feels like we flew the plane into the mountain a little bit. It just blows up." Buhler continued that he was thinking about "digging into the mythology of the town, these rituals that children present, the mythology of the Micmac, the Wendigo, the cemetery, the origins, Jud's life."
Stephen King fans know that the prequel will focus on a young Jud Crandall and that Jackson White was cast in the role, according to Deadline.com. John Lithgow played Jud in the 2019 film and Fred Gwynne took on the role first in 1989. White has been cast as Stephen DeMarco in the upcoming TV show Tell Me Lies based on the popular novel by Carola Lovering and he is well known for playing Brendan Fletcher in HBO's Mrs. Fletcher.
Pet Sematary is one of the best novels by Stephen King and the 1989 movie is a solid adaptaiton, too. While Jud Crandall is definitely an excellent character, he's flawless in both the 1989 and 2019 films and it doesn't feel necessary to watch a younger version of him. Jud explains the evil behind this pet sematary and warns the Creed family, and it's hard to think of what else he needs to do in this story.
The other problem with a Pet Sematary prequel focusing on Jud is that Jud's death scene is his most compelling and horrifying moment. In the 1989 movie, little Gage (Miko Hughes) kills him, which is an excellent way to scare audiences and make the story even tenser since he's so young. In the 2019 remake, it's Ellie (Jeté Laurence) who murders Jud, which is still terrifying since she's also a child.
It's possible to argue that Stephen King's most exciting stories should be left alone. For instance, the 2013 Carrie remake is lackluster, with many fans prefering the original from 1976. What makes Pet Sematary scary is that it's pure dark magic that makes people and pets come back from the dead but in a horrible form that no one ever could have anticipated. If there is too much backstory given here, it won't feel as chilling, and it won't seem as interesting.
There's a reason why some people are afraid of the dark and others wonder if there's something lurking under their bed or in their closet. Pet Sematary doesn't need an origin story and fans don't need to learn about what Jud was like when he was younger. The most important part of the story is when the Creed family moves into the house near an older Jud who is weathered, smart, and cynical about what he has been witnessing. The prequel will add more complications to a beloved horror story that is already clever and detailed enough.