Jordan Peele – the Oscar-winning director and screenwriter of Get Out, and one half of Key & Peele – is set to helm the revival of beloved ’50s/’60s sci-fi/horror/fantasy series, The Twilight Zone, as Variety writes.
He’ll be taking on the roles of host and narrator, which was originally the place of the series’ OG creator, Rod Serling, over the course of its ’59-’64 run. The sometimes deeply disconcerting show was also revived in the ’80s, and in the early ’00s.
The show is coming to CBS‘s streaming service in the US – but surely someone is going to pick this one up for Aussie audiences. Come on Stan, be a mate.
The original series – in case you haven’t watched it with your parents – actually really holds up. Let’s try to jog your memory:
There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.
Still don’t think you’re familiar with it? If you ever rode the The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at one of Disney’s many worlds across the globe – they’re in Florida, Japan and Paris, and there used to be one in Cali – then you know about it. I screamed bloody murder when that elevator dropped, let me tell you.
Speaking to Variety earlier this year, Peele – who also serves as an executive producer – on the project said he was “terrified” about the undertaking: “Why would I ever jump into the most established, pristine shoes in all of the genre?”
The realisation, for me, was that it was an opportunity to attempt to continue with Serling’s mission. If we approach it without ego and sort of bow to Serling, that will hopefully suffice for our fellow Twilight Zone fans but also bring back a show that I think is needed right now. Because it’s a show that has always helped us look at ourselves, hold a mirror up to society.
Earlier this year, Peele revealed his next screen project, Us, a “new nightmare“, scheduled for release in March.
— Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) May 9, 2018
