Jordan Peele Talks About His Passion For THE TWILIGHT ZONE Reboot

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These are busy times for Jordan Peele. From teaming up with YouTube for a new show, approaching Disney for a possible Gargoyles reboot, filming his next feature film and rebooting The Twilight Zone for the modern era, the Get Out director has been active in quite a few projects lately. Speaking of his Twilight Zone reboot, Peele spoke of the project in a recent interview with Variety.

The director discussed what led to him deciding to tackle the franchise:

“I was terrified. Why would I ever jump into the most established, pristine shoes in all of the genre? I could rip Twilight Zone off and call it something different and not be compared to Rod Serling. So I stepped away from it. And then several months later I got another call… The realization, for me, was that it was an opportunity to attempt to continue with Serling’s mission. If we approach it without ego and sort of bow to Serling, that will hopefully suffice for our fellow Twilight Zone fans but also bring back a show that I think is needed right now. Because it’s a show that has always helped us look at ourselves, hold a mirror up to society.“

Peele brings up a good point. With all of the political and social turbulence going on today, shows like The Twilight Zone are needed. And while there may have been merit in the idea of simply making a new anthology show in the vein of Twilight Zone and the modern hit Black Mirror, there is a level of prestige and expectations that come with Peele’s decision to instead revive the original for the modern era.

While he won’t rule the idea out, Peele also mentioned his hesitancy to possibly fill in the onscreen role that Serling originally had at the start of every Twilight Zone episode, speaking directly to the audience and setting the scene for each new episode. The filmmaker “worries that his face is too associated with comedy, that his presence would undermine the serious work he’s putting in to do right by Serling’s legacy.”

Personally speaking, I think Peele should go for it. While he isn’t wrong that many still associate him with comedy today, it’s worth remembering that another horror master once was previously known only for comedy: William Peter Blatty, author of The Exorcist, producer of the film adaptation and director of The Exorcist III.

What do you think? Are you excited for Peele’s reboot of The Twilight Zone? Comment below to share your thoughts!

SOURCE: Variety