Labyrinth 2 has found its director, as Doctor Strange helmer Scott Derrickson has been tapped by TriStar Pictures to direct the upcoming sequel. Maggie Levin, who wrote and directed Hulu’s Into the Dark: My Valentine, has also signed on to write the screenplay. Lisa Henson of The Jim Henson Company will produce, with Brian Henson executive producing alongside C. Robert Cargill. Blanca Lisa will also shepherd the project for The Jim Henson Company with Caellum Allen and Nicole Brown supervising for TriStar Pictures.
After finding success in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by directing Doctor Strange, Derrickson was set to also take the reins for the upcoming sequel. Due to creative differences, Derrickson has since departed the project, but it apparently wouldn’t take long for him to find his next major fantasy franchise to be a part of. Because the original Labyrinth is an incredibly popular movie with a large cult following that continues to grow to this day, this would have to be a decision that TriStar isn’t taking lightly, but it seems to be in good hands with Derrickson at the helm. As for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Sam Raimi has reportedly stepped in to direct the MCU sequel.
Released in 1986, the original Labyrinth was directed by the legendary Jim Henson, whose legacy was honored just this month on the 30th anniversary of his passing; Henson and Dennis Lee also conjured up the story with Terry Jones penning the script. George Lucas had also served as an executive producer. The classic tale follows Jennifer Connelly as Sarah, a 16-year-old girl on a quest to rescue her baby brother by reaching the center of an otherworldly maze. The late David Bowie also stars as Jareth the Goblin King, with most of the other characters portrayed by puppets created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.
Although Labyrinth would spawn a spin-off comic book series adaptation, the movie was never given a proper movie sequel or reboot – for better or for worse. Word of a follow-up movie began making the rounds a few years back when Nicole Perlman was hired to write the script for the potential sequel in 2016. The following year, Crawl helmer Fede Alvarez had signed on to direct the project with a new creative direction, co-writing the screenplay with Jay Basu. In 2018, Alvarez said that his script was complete, but the project would then stall in development hell in the time since. Time will tell if Scott Derrickson and Levin will be the ones to finally get Labyrinth 2 off the ground.
Of course, as beloved as the original movie is, there’s certainly going to be a large portion of fans feeling apprehensive about seeing a sequel happen. To state the obvious, it would definitely not be the same without Bowie’s involvement. It would also be challenging for any filmmakers to try and match the magic of the first Labyrinth, which might explain why the planned sequel has had a few false starts already. We’ll have to stay tuned for more updates for now. This news comes to us from Deadline.
