Urban Myth & The Imaginarium team for ‘Wicker Man’ TV series adaptation

The Wicker Man

Urban Myth Films and The Imaginarium have teamed up and acquired the rights from StudioCanal to produce a TV series adaptation of cult horror film The Wicker Man.

Howard Overman will pen the adaptation, which is described as a “total reimagining” of the 1973 British folk horror film that starred Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward. In the original film, Woodward played a police officer who travelled to a remote island to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a young girl, where he uncovers a dangerous pagan cult led by Lee.

The Wicker Man was also remade into a 2006 feature starring Nicolas Cage.

Urban Myth Films is currently in production on the second series of The Lazarus Project for Sky, with the third series of Overman’s War Of The Worlds out on Canal+ in France and about to be released on Disney+ in the UK.  Studiocanal is a shareholder in Urban Myth Films, which is also behind The One for Netflix and A Confession for ITV.

Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish’s The Imaginarium, meanwhile, is currently in post-production on the feature Next Goal Wins, directed by Taika Waititi, and its latest television series The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself, based on the YA trilogy by Sally Green, will be released on Netflix this month.

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to reimagine this hugely influential film. While the story is very different, the series explores the same themes of sacrifice, superstition and ritual that were at the core of the original film,” said Overman.

Cavendish, co-founder at The Imaginarium, added, “Howard Overman has created a bold, shocking and unique series, pulling the themes and terrifying power of the original Wicker Man into a thrilling modern setting. We’re so excited to bring this reimagining of a classic to the screen with our friends at Urban Myth.”