A few months after landing Zac Efron (Extremely Wicked, Shocking Evil and Vile) to lead the cast, Blumhouse’s upcoming remake of the 1984 adaptation of Stephen King’s Firestarter has continued to expand its cast with the addition of Michael Greyeyes (Fear the Walking Dead), according to Deadline.
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Firestarter centers on an organization called the Department of Scientific Intelligence, aka “The Shop.” Two participants in their mysterious research program end up getting married and having a child. Their offspring, Charlie McGee, inherited pyrokinetic powers from her parents, who were given a low-grade hallucinogen called “Lot Six” during their college years. Now the government is trying to apprehend the young Charlie in order to harness her powerful and unique skills as a weapon.
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Greyeyes, who recently received rave reviews for his role in the Sundance premiere Wild Indian, is set to star in the film as Rainbird, a relentless and powerful man who has been pushed into a violent life. The character was previously portrayed by George C. Scott in the first adaptation of the novel.
Drew Barrymore previously played Charlie in Mark L. Lester’s 1984 adaptation that also starred David Keith as Charlie’s father Andy. Written by Stanley Mann, the movie earned $17.1 million at the box office from a $12 million budget. A TV miniseries titled Firestarter: Rekindled followed in 2002 starring Marguerite Moreau, Malcolm McDowell, and Dennis Hopper.
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After originally setting In the Fade‘s Fatih Akin for the job, Blumhouse partnered with up-and-comer Keith Thomas (The Vigil) late last year to direct the new adaptation while Scott Teems (Halloween Kills) is penning the script.
(Photo Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for HBO)
