What Is Going on with The Lost Boys?
The Lost Boys, a 1987 horror-comedy directed by Joel Schumacher, went on to be a cult classic in the years following its original release. As far as cult films go, it is on par with The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the Kill Bill franchise. Unfortunately, some people just cannot leave a good thing alone.
The film’s commercial success led to Warner Bros. creating a franchise that includes two sequels and two comic book series. That’s fine. A lot of other film franchises have done similar things. But now we have news of a musical adaptation and a new TV series now in the works over at The CW.
A musical adaptation? Seriously, it has come to this? Little Shop of Horrors worked as a dark comedy/horror/musical feature because it was written as such from the ground up. And for the record, Rick Moranis crushed the role of Seymour Krelborn in 1986 film version. But it’s a bit hard to believe that The Lost Boys will transition to the musical genre very well.
A Classic Vampire Film
A big part of The Lost Boys’ appeal is its status as a classic vampire film. The story adds a few new twists to the vampire legend, but it largely respects the main principles of the legend by not going too far into left field. In that regard, Schumacher showed himself to have a talent for developing new stories from old legends.
The one thing that cannot be escaped is the darkness of the vampire myth. At least with Little Shop of Horrors, the story did not revolve around something as well-known and decidedly dark as vampires. The producers of The Lost Boys musical do not have the luxury of trying to be funny from the ground up. They have to take a very serious form of film horror and make it lighthearted enough to qualify as an entertaining musical.
Of course, there is no way to know what the musical will be like until it hits the stage. Broadway expects it to arrive sometime in 2021. Between now and then, there is plenty of time to speculate what it might be like to see vampires prancing around the stage while singing epic Broadway tunes. Nerd Kung Fu should have the T-shirts ready shortly after the debut.
A New TV Series
Meanwhile, The CW apparently has a new Lost Boys series in the works. Actually, it will only be new to viewers. The network has apparently been trying to adapt the film to TV for years. Multiple starts and stops have left true fans wondering if the show will ever make it to the air. The CW says it will.
Its latest attempt involves scrapping a previously made sequel and starting over. Sources say The CW was well on its way when the coronavirus pandemic brought things to a screeching halt. It is not clear whether production has resumed or not. At any rate, The Lost Boys TV series is supposed to be ready for the 2021-2022 season.
Sources also say the series will remain true to the 1987 film. That means there probably won’t be any curtain dropping musical numbers or tap dancing involved. It will be all vampires, all the time. Will it be up to the task of honoring the cult classic? We’ll see.
Do not expect purists to appreciate either the musical adaptation or the new TV series. That’s the way it goes with cult classics. But if the producers of both projects can appeal to a wide enough audience, they stand a shot at making some money.
