Pet Sematary screenwriter unearths possible prequel ideas involving town’s mythology

Some stories just won’t stay dead. With Paramount's remake of Stephen King's Pet Sematary raking in over $106 million at the box office globally (from a production budget of $21 million), the screenwriter is naturally discussing plans for a follow-up. But rather than make a sequel, talk is centered around a prequel that explores the film’s mythology.

Pet Sematary focuses on the Creed Family after they move to Maine and discover that the land near their farmhouse can resurrect the dead. But the dead don’t come back quite the same. Their new neighbor, Jud (John Lithgow) shows them the “pet sematary” in the woods near their house that the local kids made…and the actual burial ground that brings the dead back in a twisted and horrific way (it is a Stephen King story, after all).

When the family cat dies, Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke) tests out the burial ground to bring the cat back. Then when a person dies, Louis tries it out again. Things don’t work out according to plan.

"We had discussions about possible follow-up films, and … everybody feels like we've told the story of the Creeds," screenwriter Jeff Buhler told ComicBook.com.

So, instead, Buhler said that most of the ideas that the filmmakers have “been batting around currently … have all been … more about digging into the mythology of the town, these rituals that children present, the mythology of the Micmac, the Wendigo, the cemetery, the origins, Jud's life.”

Now, Buhler offered the caveat that they’re only in preliminary discussions, and they’re “not even down the road on an idea yet.” But given the success of the film, the film industry’s emphasis on franchises, and the massive popularity of King’s stories for the big and small screen these days, it would not be surprising if these early story talks coalesced into something more concrete sooner rather than later. Until then, we still have that clip above from the OG Pet Sematary Two to tide us over.

(Via ComicBook.com)