It was recently reported that Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty) would be playing the lead of Paramount Pictures' planned reboot of Pet Sematary, a feature adaptation of Stephen King's classic horror tome of the same name. Clarke is on board to play Dr. Louis Creed, essentially a city doc who moves his family into the Maine countryside to escape the hustle and bustle. In the original tale--both the 1983 novel and the cult classic 1989 movie from director Mary Lambert--Dr. Creed befriends a local yokel by the name of Jud Crandall, a part played endearingly well by the late Fred Gwynne. The recasting of this particular role was a pretty important one and Paramount seems to have nailed it.

As EW reports, the studio has tapped twice Oscar-nominated actor John Lithgow to play the part. That's solid casting. Expect more casting news to be announced in the coming weeks and months since the plan is to shoot the picture this summer, aimed for an April 19, 2019 release date. Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer (Starry Eyes) will direct the remake from a script by Jeff Buhler, to be produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian and Steven Schneider. Pet Sematary is but the latest in a new wave of King adaptations. Keep 'em comin', I say.

pet-sematary
Image via Paramount Pictures

Here’s a look at the official synopsis of King’s book (via Amazon):

When Dr. Louis Creed takes a new job and moves his family to the idyllic and rural town of Ludlow, Maine, this new beginning seems too good to be true. Yet despite Ludlow’s tranquility, there’s an undercurrent of danger that exists here. Those trucks on the road outside the Creed’s beautiful old home travel by just a little too quickly, for one thing…as is evidenced by the makeshift pet cemetery out back in the nearby woods. Then there are the warnings to Louis both real and from the depths of his nightmares that he should not venture beyond the borders of this little graveyard. A blood-chilling truth is hidden there—one more terrifying than death itself, and hideously more powerful. An ominous fate befalls anyone who dares tamper with this forbidden place, as Louis is about to discover for himself…