Fans of R.L. Stine’s novels can rejoice, as the latest cast member for the upcoming Fear Street trilogy has been confirmed to be Gillian Jacobs. The possibility of a Fear Street film was first teased in 2015, when Stine confirmed that something was in the works for his other best-selling horror series. Stine is most known as the author of the Goosebumps series, which was also adapted, first for the small screen in the 1990s, and for the big screen in 2015. The film of the same title, and its 2018 sequel Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, stars Jack Black as Stine himself, and doesn’t directly adapt any of the books.
Jacobs most recently starred in Judd Apatow’s Love, with Paul Rust as her co-star. Prior to starring in the Netflix comedy, Jacobs played the role of Britta Perry on Dan Harmon’s Community, which ran for five seasons on NBC before airing its sixth and final season on Yahoo! Screen. Jacobs gained a fan following during her six season run on the show, and although a movie had been in talks since the show’s conception, it doesn’t appear as if the Community film will be happening anytime soon, if at all. Either way, Jacobs will be a welcome addition to the already impressive cast list of the Fear Street films.
THR reports that Jacobs signed on for all three films in the trilogy. So far, Kylie Killen (The Beaver) is slated to write the script, with Leah Janiak as director. Other confirmed cast members are Kiana Madeira, Olivia Welch, and Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink, making Jacobs the latest to confirm her involvement in the trilogy. Fear Street is another young adult horror series penned by Stine that has gained notoriety over the years, and will likely target a more mature audience than the Goosebumps films. Fear Street, while still aimed at a YA readership, is darker and more sinister than the Goosebumps books, so the films will likely reflect this maturity.
The 20th Century Fox/Chernin Entertainment film series is already filming in Atlanta at the moment, and some elements of the plot have been revealed. The films will span three different time periods, 1994, 1978 and 1666. Jacobs is slated to play a maintenance worker at a summer camp in the 1994 setting, but her other roles in the trilogy have yet to be confirmed. With Disney’s recent acquisition of Fox, the distribution plans for the trilogy are currently unknown.
As more information about the Fear Street films develop, the anticipation for a release date is rising. The first film in the franchise officially has a writer, director, and now an impressive list of talent behind it, but when can fans expect to see the film in theaters? Aside from a young adult audience, those who were fans of the novels in childhood will likely makeup a majority of the audience as well, if not for the thrilling content then for nostalgia. While a date has yet to be determined, fans can rest assured for now that the film series is in good hands.
More: R.L. Stine’s Fear Street Trilogy Casts Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink
Source: THR
