Twentieth Century Fox has a long history of putting the kybosh on promising shows before they have a chance to gain a following, making no exception for the unaired pilot of Locke & Key, based on the comics by award winning author Joe Hill. Now Fox may bring the production of the Locke & Key movie to a stand still, if Universal Pictures can’t find a compromise, according to the author in an interview with MTV News:
“It’s been snared in an endless series of contractual negotiations. Universal took a long, long time to come through with an acceptable contract for myself and IDW,” said Hill. “Now they’re dealing with a bureaucracy as labyrinthine and implacable as their own: FOX TV. Uni wants to avoid spending $25 million on a movie, and then have FOX steal their thunder by releasing a three-year-old pilot.
“FOX wants to see some coin on all the money they sank into the pilot in the first place. The lawyers all have to validate their salaries. That said, Alex and Bob are the two most tenacious people I’ve ever met, and if anyone can see ‘Locke & Key’ through the contractual maze, and on into production, it’s them.
“Of course all this could’ve been avoided if FOX had just made the series. I know I’m biased, but I kinda think they bet on the wrong ponies that season.”
After seeing the Locke & Key pilot, I fully agree with Hill, some of those ponies should never have had a chance to race.
Joe Hill may have followed in his Father’s footsteps, setting nightmares to the printed page, but he has his own voice for the new generation of horror lovers. Son of Stephen King, he has the experience of growing up with a horror great, who is a master of the short story, and also a graphic novel/comic writer.
Locke & Key, an homage to the writer H.P. Lovecraft, has a compelling and intricate storyline that draws the reader into a world of supernatural mystery. Fox having blown off airing the series, may be the only key to the Locke & Key movie release.