The Munsters may return in ‘1313’ from James Wan (The Conjuring)

May 27, 2024 Chris Well

The members of the development team offer some intriguing possibilities for The Munsters remake.

PLUS a look at the history of previous reunions, reboots, and riffs on the original monster family show.

A monster family that won’t stay buried (heh), classic 1960s horror sitcom The Munsters may be coming back in a new series. Introduced to the world in 1964—and last seen in the 2022 movie from director (and rocker) Rob Zombie—The Munsters has a history of being revisited, recalled, and rebooted several times over the decades.

The new series name is said to be 1313 (named after the house number in the family’s home address in the original series). As soon as the news broke, we started discussing it inside the Monster Complex Sanctuary private Facebook group. (Yes, you can join here.)

Developing The Munsters reboot are James Wan, Lindsey Anderson Beer, and Ingrid Bisu. All three of those names bring interesting—if scary—possibilities to this project.

As a filmmaker, James Wan’s resume includes a number of items from the horror genre, including creating or co-creating The Conjuring Universe, the Insidious brand, and the Saw series. But Wan also directed one of the movies in the Fast & Furious series. And—perhaps even more importantly—directed two Aquaman movies. So his involvement could potentially bring a nice balance to the project.
Lindsey Anderson Beer is also set to be the show runner heading up the Munsters reboot series. Her credits include directing the horror movie Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, created as a prequel to Stephen King’s 1983 novel Pet Sematary. She also wrote and executive produced the Netflix dramedy Sierra Burgess is a Loser. Beer is also set to work on Paramount’s Sleepy Hollow reboot as the writer, director, and producer.
Ingrid Bisu is an actress, producer, and screenwriter. Notable among her many resume items, Bisu co-starred as Sister Oana in the horror movie The Nun, part of The Conjuring brand universe. In fact, that set is where she and James Wan met. Since then, the two have married—as well as began working together on creative projects.

James Wan’s involvement with 1313 is certainly intriguing. Granted, those horror movies he’s done might make a Munsters fan wonder whether his mindset goes too far in that direction. But Wan’s work with the Fast & Furious movies and with the DC Comics movies means he can make fun stories with fantastical characters. (In fact, Wan is one of very few film directors to have two movies that broke the billion-dollar mark at the box office.)

So Wan can work with fantastical elements and tell a big story. So—fingers crossed—James Wan’s involvement could possibly bring the right balance for The Munsters.

Of course, this is hardly the only time someone revisited that monster family. More examples below!

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The History of The Munsters

The Munsters (1964-1966)

The classic sitcom The Munsters introduced viewers to a family of monsters: This included a dad who was a version of Frankenstein’s Monster, a grandpa who was the retired Count Dracula, a mom who was the daughter of Dracula, a son who was a werewolf, and a niece that was normal. (Granted, the family thought she was the weird one.)

Looking at the origins of the show, it was originally pitched as something more like The Addams Family. (We talk about that here.) And the unaired pilot was in color. (We talk about that here.)

But the studio wanted to lean way closer to the Universal Monsters that they owned. And, while it may have been a budgetary choice, shooting the original episodes in black & white really mixed with the series in a great way.

With 70 episodes, the show aired on the CBS network only two seasons. However, despite such a short run, the show has continued to delight viewers through reruns and a series of reunions, revisits, and reboots.

Find the original The Munsters series on Amazon

Related links about The Munsters:

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Movie #1—Munster, Go Home! (1966)

The family’s theatrical debut was released to movie theaters shortly after the end of the TV show. Munster, Go Home showed audiences what that monster family looked like in color! The film featured original cast members Fred Gwynne (Herman Munster), Yvonne De Carlo (Lily Munster), Al Lewis (Grandpa) and Butch Patrick (Eddie Munster). The character of Marilyn was played by Debbie Watson (replacing Pat Priest), the third actress to play the character.

In the movie, Herman inherits a mansion in England and moves the family into an estate full of ghosts and other surprises. It also stars Terry-Thomas (The Abominable Dr. Phibes), Hermione Gingold (Bell, Book And Candle), Richard Dawson (Hogan’s Heroes), Bernard Fox (Arnold), and horror film legend John Carradine (The Howling). Director Earl Bellamy had directed episodes of the original series.

Find Munster, Go Home! on Amazon

WATCH: Munster, Go Home Official Trailer

Animated reboot—The Mini-Munsters (1973)

Intended to launch a possible spinoff of the original series, the one-hour cartoon special The Mini-Munsters aired on ABC as part of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie. The voice cast did include at least one member from the original show—actor Al Lewis, who had played Grandpa. It’s been reported that a half-hour edited version of the show became available in the 1980s.

WATCH: The Mini-Munsters Animated TV Special

By the way, that series The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie was a Saturday morning movie slot that allowed a number of production companies—like Hanna-Barbera, Filmation and Rankin/Bass—to create new projects that could work as pilots for potential shows. Other characters who appeared during this weekly presentation were The Brady Kids and Yogi Bear (both of which did lead to cartoon shows).

Also appearing in episodes was a cartoon sequel to the 1967 theatrical film Mad Monster Party?, a rethinking of Lost in Space, and a cartoon follow-up to Bewitched where we revisited the show’s two children as teens.

Also worth noting was the very weird crossover Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies. This mashup found the Looney Tunes characters meeting up with goofy characters from a cartoon series based on classic monsters (including versions of Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, and the Wolf Man). I’ve only seen a clip from this crossover—but the pacing of this movie makes it hard to keep watching.

Ohhh…. and here’s that crossover episode now…

WATCH: Looney Tunes Meet The Groovie Goolies (1972)

Movie #2—The Munsters’ Revenge (1981)

In the made-for-TV reunion movie with the original cast The Munsters’ Revenge, Dr. Dustin Diablo (played by guest star Sid Caesar) uses robot copies of Herman and Grandpa to rob a jewelry story. Now framed for the crime, the two must prove their innocence.

This movie was a reunion for some of the original actors, including Fred Gwynne (Herman), Yvonne De Carlo (Lily), and Al Lewis (Grandpa). Marilyn Munster was played this time by Jo McDonnell and Eddie Munster by K. C. Martel.

Find The Munsters’ Revenge on Amazon

WATCH: The Munsters Revenge Trailer

TV show—The Munsters Today (1988-1991)

In the syndicated TV show The Munsters Today, the overall concept is that this wasn’t a restart—but actually a continuation with the original 1960s characters. The time gap between series, explained in the opening credits, was that an accident in Grandpa’s lab put the family to sleep for like 20 years. When they woke up again in the 1980s—for this series—they had to adjust to the new world around them.

This series produced in color, The Munsters Today broadcast 72 new episodes between 1988 and 1991. The cast included John Schuck (playing Herman), Lee Meriwether (as Lily), Howard Morton (Grandpa), Jason Marsden (Eddie), and Hilary Van Dyke (Marilyn).

Find out from JustWatch.com whether The Munsters Today is streaming anywhere

WATCH: Munsters Today Season 1 Opening

Movie #3—Here Come the Munsters (1995)

A fun story that explains why The Munsters came from Transylvania to California—and how Marilyn became part of the family unit. In this TV movie, The Munsters leave the old country to escape a mob with fiery torches, choosing to visit Marilyn’s family in the United States. However, once they get here, they discover that Marilyn’s father is missing and her mother is in a coma. The Munsters have to find out how to help Marilyn’s parents. They also have to adjust to living in America.

Here Come the Munsters starred Edward Herrmann (as Herman), Veronica Hamel (as Lily), Robert Morse (as Grandpa), Christine Taylor (as Marilyn), and Mathew Botuchis (as Eddie). There was also a nice scene that included the still-living cast members of the original show, including Yvonne De Carlo, Al Lewis, Butch Patrick, and Pat Priest.

Find Here Come the Munsters on Amazon

WATCH: Here Come The Munsters - Promo (1995)

Movie #4—The Munsters’ Scary Little Christmas (1996)

Although feeling like a sequel to the previous year’s Here Come the Munsters, the TV movie The Munsters’ Scary Little Christmas had a different cast. When Eddie feels homesick for Transylvania, his dad Herman decides that his son needs a “good old Transylvanian Christmas” for him to get in the holiday mood. Herman and family mail out invitations to the rest of the Munster family to come celebrate the holidays with them.

Of course, lots more happens—including a neighborhood home holiday decoration contest, a fired Herman struggling to find a new job, and Grandpa accidentally trapping Santa Claus in their house.

The cast for The Munsters’ Scary Little Christmas includes Sam McMurray (as Herman), Ann Magnuson (as Lily), Sandy Baron (as Grandpa), Bug Hall (as Eddie), and Elaine Hendrix (as Marilyn).

Find The Munsters’ Scary Little Christmas on Amazon

WATCH: Sci-Fi Channel promo for The Munster’s Scary Little Christmas

Halloween Special—Mockingbird Lane (2012)

A decidedly dramedy reboot, the TV pilot for Mockingbird Lane aired on NBC as a Halloween special. In this version, Herman (played by Jerry O’Connell) is a more normal-looking Frankenstein’s Monster, except with some visible scars. And his heart is dying—because he loves too hard—and needs to be replaced.

When Grandpa (Eddie Izzard) wants to murder someone to get a replacement heart for Herman, the family tries to stop him. (It gets a bit complicated.)

Meanwhile, Eddie (played by Mason Cook) is a growing boy struggling with the fact that he doesn’t actually know he is a werewolf. His parents must help him with the news.

The cast also includes Portia de Rossi (as Lily) and Charity Wakefield (as Marilyn).

The hourlong special was written and directed by Bryan Fuller (who also created the “forensic fairy tale” series Pushing Daisies). It was reported that the network didn’t pick up the series because they didn’t like the show’s dark nature and mixed tone.

WATCH: MOCKINGBIRD LANE - Munsters Reboot | PREVIEW

Movie #5—The Munsters (2022)

Rocker and director Rob Zombie created a new movie version of The Munsters in 2022. Taking place before the events of the original series, the movie offers another (and different) origin story for the family. This story shows how Herman and Lily first met and became a couple.

This version of The Munsters was produced, written, and directed by Zombie. The movie’s cast included Jeff Daniel Phillips (as Herman), Sheri Moon Zombie (as Lily), and Daniel Roebuck (as the character who would become known as Grandpa).

Apparently, Zombie spent years hoping to make a Munsters film before the project finally came together. He also wanted to make the movie in black and white, but the studio refused—which is why the director opted for the film’s highly saturated look. The movie debuted on Netflix in 2022.

Find this The Munsters on Amazon

WATCH: The Munsters - Official Trailer (2022)

SOURCE: UCP Developing Horror Reboot Of ‘The Munsters’ (Deadline)

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