The Pet Sematary remake recently started filming and Paramount has just revealed several key cast members as well as an official synopsis for the upcoming Stephen King adaptation. It was previously revealed that Jason Clarke (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) and Amy Seimetz (The Girlfriend Experience) had been tapped to play the elder members of the Creed family at the center of the story. Now, the studio has revealed who will be tackling the roles of their children.
Ten-year-old Jete Laurence (The Snowman) will play Ellie, who is described as a sweet and sensitive young girl who adores her cat Winston Churchill, aka "Church.". Those who have read the book or have seen the previous adaptation know that Church is an important element of the story. Ellie manages to win over the heart of the old-timer Jud Crandall who lives next door, played by John Lithgow, who was previously announced.
Three-year-old twins Hugo Lavoie and Lucas Lavoie will both play Gage, Ellie's toddler little brother, who also plays a very key role in the story. This is the Lavoie brothers' first movie. Their parents auditioned them for the part after seeing a casting notice on Facebook. Paramount also revealed the official synopsis for this new take on Pet Sematary, which sounds very much in line with the story King fans are familiar with. The synopsis reads as follows.
"Based on the seminal horror novel by Stephen King, Pet Sematary follows Dr. Louis Creed (Clarke), who, after relocating with his wife Rachel (Seimetz) and their two young children from Boston to rural Maine, discovers a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near the family's new home. When tragedy strikes, Louis turns to his unusual neighbor, Jud Crandall (Lithgow), setting off a perilous chain reaction that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences."Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kolsch (Starry Eyes) have been tapped to direct the remake, which just began filming earlier this week. The adaptation was written by Jeff Buhler, who also serves as showrunner on SyFy's adaptation of George R.R. Martin's Nightflyers. Stephen King's novel of the same name was initially released in 1983 and adapted for the screen six years later in 1989. That particular take on Pet Sematary didn't do much for critics, though it did spawn a sequel, Pet Sematary 2, which was released in 1992.
Stephen King properties are now a hot commodity in Hollywood given the resounding success of IT last year. That adaptation not only did very well with critics and fans alike, but it went on to gross more than $700 million at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing horror movie ever. As such, studios like Paramount were quick to green light projects based on King's work. Thus, the Pet Sematary remake, which is set for release on April 5, 2019, picked up steam rather quickly. This news comes to us courtesy of Entertainment Weekly.
