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The ghoulish family of lovable monsters The Munsters are returning with a reboot created by none other than horror movie and rock music icon Rob Zombie, over 50 years after the original family first graced screens. Zombie confirmed that he is indeed directing a reboot film of the 1960s sitcom satire via an Instagram post, stating he had been chasing the project for the past 20 years. If you can't wait any longer to find out more about the modern reboot of the classic monster family franchise then you’ve come to the right place. Here is everything we know so far about the Zombified reboot film.
Editor's Note: This piece was updated on August 28, 2022, to include the release date and trailer.
When Will The Munsters Be Released?
Good news! With production having wrapped in July 2022, the Munsters reboot is all set for release. The movie will be coming to Netflix on September 27, 2022. Don't have Netflix? Well, the movie is also getting its Blu-ray, digital, and DVD release (with bonus features) on the same day.
Watch The Munsters Trailer
A teaser trailer for The Munsters was released on June 8, 2022, starting off in a black and white recreation of the original series' intro before segueing into 'living color' as Herman, Lily, and Grandpa uncomfortably sit on a couch. A full-length trailer was released in July 2022, teasing the movie as the "strangest love story ever told." Yet another trailer was released shortly after the first one, this time confirming the Blu-ray, digital, and DVD release dates. Check it out here:
Who Stars in the Ghoulish Cast of The Munsters?
Jeff Daniel Phillips will portray Herman Munster, the goofy, slack-jawed head of household created in a lab by Dr. Frankenstein. Dan Roebuck will take the role of Grandpa, Herman’s father-in-law, also known as The Count, who longs for the days of old in Transylvania. And who is this irresistible creature who has an insatiable love for the dead? Why, it’s Sheri Moon Zombie as the vampiric Lily, wife of Herman, who rocks a white streak through her dark hair, similar to that of the classic wife of Frankenstein.
Other cast members confirmed for the movie include Richard Brake as Dr. Henry Augustus Wolfgang, Sylvester McCoy as Igor, Jorge Garcia as Floop, Catherine Schell as Zoya Krupp, and Cassandra Peterson as Barbara Carr, along with Dee Wallace as the voice of "Good Morning Transylvania", Jeremy Wheeler as Mr. Gateman, and Tomas Boykin as Lester. Additionally, while Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, and Al Lewis, who played the original Herman, Lily, and Grandpa, have all now passed away, original series cast members Pat Priest and Butch Patrick are going to be appearing in the reboot.
What Will the New Munsters Film Be About (and What's its Rating)?
Rob Zombie’s history of using significant amounts of blood and gore in his films has some people concerned about what might come of the family-friendly sitcom that is now in his hands. Those people can now rest easy as the movie has received a PG rating. Zombie is a self-taught filmmaker, known for his gritty movies featuring strange and torturous hillbillies such as House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects. Though, in an interview Zombie speaks on what made him such a fan of the horror genre, stating that as a child of the 60s, “there were TV shows like The Munsters, The Addams Family, and The Twilight Zone. There was so much horror stuff. I think that all influenced me. Ever since then I’ve been into it.”
As a fan of the original series, and given the photos he has shared on his social media, one can assume that he won’t stray too far off the original style of the classic show. And who better to take on the reboot than Rob Zombie, said to be a huge fan of the series, and whose arguably most famous song, “Dragula,” is named after the Munsters’ car built by Grandpa to win a drag race. The chorus of the song directly quotes Grandpa who stated in a 1966 episode, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten laid just because of the car! One after another, I burn through these… well, these witches, we’ll say, that I slam in the back of my Dragula.”
We do hope to see the famous Dragula cruising the quaint streets of Mockingbird Heights, and with Rob Zombie posting photos of the family’s Koach online with Butch Patrick, we can expect to see even more references to the classic show in his adaptation. One question we do have about the new film's plot is, will it be scary? The original show and subsequent films depicted the Munsters, a family of monster immigrants from Transylvania, and followed them through the comedic sitcom-style hijinx of suburban life in America with plots ranging from Herman being hoodwinked by a used car salesman to Eddie dealing with being the shortest boy in class, all with twists of light-hearted spookiness and not meant to scare. It will be interesting to see if Zombie brings some horror to the reboot.
What Will This Modern Munster Family Look Like?
Apart from the trailers, all that has been seen of the film so far are mainly images released by Zombie on his Instagram page. The majority of photos are in black and white, much like the original show, even though the trailer is in full color. And neither show the grittiness we’re used to seeing in Rob Zombie films. In a post on his Instagram on June 15, 2021, Zombie celebrated the 55th anniversary of the spin-off film Munster, Go Home, and said that he was shocked by seeing the cast filmed in color for the first time. Based on this, it had initially seemed likely that the film would be shot in black and white to pay homage to the aesthetic of the original series. We now know that the movie will be in color but it's not yet known if the film will be set in the 1960s or modernized for new audiences.
In the photos, Zombie shows that they have constructed an entire neighborhood around the home at 1313 Mockingbird Lane, which sits haunting the end of the street with its high gates and gargoyles keeping an ever-watchful eye on the castle-like domicile. The original Munster home still exists, packed away on a backlot at Universal. The empty facade was modernized and used on the set of Desperate Housewives, no longer appearing so haunted. Zombie and the crew are not likely to use the old building for the new film, which is being shot in Budapest in a custom-constructed home that Zombie has said that he wanted to be exact. Zombie has shared blueprints of the new Munster home along with construction updates of the neighborhood online.
We've also seen photos of the new cast in their costumes and the monsters and their makeup appear to be pretty dead on. Prosthetics for both Herman and Grandpa give them their iconic looks; Herman with a prominent brow and elongated, flat-topped head, and Grandpa’s hooked nose and wild curled hair, construction of which were shared on social media as well. Though, one difference is that Lily appears to have a larger streak of white in her hair than the original matron of the family, whose white streak got smaller as the show progressed.
Additionally, designs for Herman and Lily’s daywear and sleepwear were posted, showing a red suit with Herman's classic high-water pants and platform shoes beside Lily’s ruffled, hooded cloak, exactly like the original Lily’s look. The sleepwear featured a plum purple nightdress and spiderweb embroidered black dressing gown for the Missus, and a skull buttoned striped nightshirt and pointed cap for Herman. Construction of some of the garments has been shared online as well, as Zombie’s Instagram has become a sort of unofficial behind-the-scenes hub for the film.
Apart from how the film will look, audiences are curious about how the film will sound. With Rob Zombie often creating the soundtracks for his films, it would be great to hear a Zombified version of the original beachy and brassy theme song of the series as the opening credits run. In fact, there have already been two 12-inch vinyl releases for the movie, the first featuring two tracks from The Crumble Creatures Crackers spokes-ghoul and TV host Zombo, titled “It’s Zombo” and “House of Zombo.” The second one has Jeff Daniel Phillips and Sheri Moon Zombie (as Herman and Lily) singing a cover of Sonny & Cher's “I Got You Babe”. The complete original soundtrack is also expected to receive a vinyl release when it comes out in September 2022.