“Hey…you wanna to see something really scary?”
Well, if once and future X-Men director Bryan Singer has his way, then the seminal television classic, The Twilight Zone, may be headed back to the small screen; a deal to develop the project has reportedly been set up between Singer and CBS TV Studios.
Unfortunately, the project has not yet had a chance to develop much beyond the initial deal, so there is little additional information to go on. With no writer in place, the project hasn’t even been shopped around to networks, yet. However, the belief is that, if it were to move ahead, CBS would be a likely choice to carry the anthology series – which makes sense, as the network aired The Twilight Zone during its initial 1959-64 run, as well as two seasons of the 1985 reboot – but that certainly doesn’t rule out the possibility of other networks expressing their interest.
Given his experience in television as an executive producer on programs like House M.D. and Dirty Sexy Money – in addition to having directed the pilot-turned-Halloween-special for Bryan Fuller’s The Munsters reboot, Mockingbird Lane – Singer would not only serve as an executive producer for the new Twilight Zone series, but might also be on hand as director for one or more episodes. It’s become quite common to have big name directors handling the pilots of new shows, as was the case with Jon Favreau on Revolution and with David Slade helming the pilot episodes for Awake as well as the upcoming Hannibal series, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Singer behind the lens on the pilot for a new Twilight Zone.
Of course, where one studio sees potential success and profit, so does another. Therefore Singer’s new Twilight Zone TV series may have to compete against the long-gestating second Twilight Zone movie that once had Cloverfield and Let Me In director, Matt Reeves, attached to direct. As is often the case when projects like this fail to immediately get off the ground, Reeves has since departed to helm Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, while the script has gone back for more re-writes, leaving Singer with the apparent advantage as long as his TV project moves at a steadier pace.
Given the current quality of television, its fondness for strong storytelling and ability to embrace multiple genres, now seems like the perfect time to revive a concept like The Twilight Zone. Although, with viewers having long been accustomed to the traditional television format of following a cast of characters and their story over multiple seasons, one has to wonder how a series that could be drastically different from week to week would sit with audiences. So far, the anthology concept hasn’t hurt the ratings for FX’s American Horror Story, but that series has the benefit of tackling a single storyline over the course of an entire season, as opposed to a single episode as Zone was known to do.
On the plus side, however, should the series stick with the original format, the appeal of a single-episode obligation might be enough to lure some big name writers, directors and even actors onboard who would otherwise be unable to make a larger commitment. It wouldn’t take too long to compile a list of creative types that’d be a perfect fit for an episode of The Twilight Zone – which could make for a big ratings draw, considering the series may lack the benefit of a regular cast and creators.
At any rate, should the project get off the ground, another big concern would likely be finding the perfect fit to replace Rod Serling in the program’s iconic introduction, but it should also rekindle the argument of which anthology series was better, The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits.
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Screen Rant will keep you posted on all the news regarding Bryan Singer’s proposed reboot of The Twilight Zone, as it is made available.
