Acclaimed horror screenwriter Kevin Williamson has signed an overall deal with Universal Television to develop several high-profile thriller projects, reports Deadline. The deal includes a modern reimagining of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 classic Rear Window for Peacock. Williamson himself will pen the script for the new adaptation.
Rear Window stars James Stewart as a photographer confined to a wheelchair in his Greenwich apartment after breaking his leg. Out of boredom, he begins spying on his neighbors through his rear window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder. The original film is notable for its inventive set that places the viewer in the protagonist’s voyeuristic perspective.
For the new TV adaptation, Williamson will reimagine the premise for a modern setting. Possible updates could include high-tech surveillance equipment, internet sleuthing, and a social media twist on the Rear Window narrative. The challenge will be keeping the claustrophobic tension of the original while telling a fresh story optimized for streaming audiences.
The Game, another project in development from Williamson’s deal, will adapt the 1997 David Fincher movie of the same name. The paranoid thriller stars Michael Douglas as a banker who gets an offer to play a mysterious “game” that upends his entire life. The film keeps viewers guessing if the game is real or an elaborate conspiracy against the protagonist.
By modernizing these psychological thriller concepts as streaming series, Williamson can expand their intricate plots beyond the constraints of feature films. Williamson is best known for writing slashers like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. But these classic Hitchcock and Fincher adaptations play more to Williamson’s strengths for tension and mystery.
Overall, Universal Television executive Erin Underhill promises Williamson has “boundless and inspiring” ideas for new projects. Williamson says he’s “thrilled to be part of the Universal Television family” and “excited to be working with such an amazing team.”
After successes across film and television, including creating hit shows like Dawson’s Creek, The Vampire Diaries and The Following, Williamson remains an innovative voice in the thriller/horror space. His deal with Universal demonstrates a commitment to bringing new psychological suspense stories to modern audiences. Rear Window and The Game offer strong source material that Williamson can reinterpret to capitalize on streaming viewers’ tastes for bingeable serialized mysteries.
Stay tuned to Horror Facts for more details on these upcoming Kevin Williamson streaming adaptations!
