‘Locke & Key’ Back From The Dead With New Writer?

Locke & Key, the groundbreaking comic book from New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriquez, seemed to be stuck in cinematic limbo when Fox TV cancelled the comic-based series after the initial pilot. However, The Hollywood Reporter is now announcing that Albert Torres has been picked to write Universal’s big-screen adaptation of Locke & Key.

It’s unclear if a deal has been made between Fox TV and Universal concerning the rights to Locke & Key, but Universal is clearly moving ahead on the story. Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Bobby Cohen have been named to produce Locke & Key, as well as Ted Adams, the CEO and publisher of IDW, the company that originally put out Locke & Key.

The new writer for the Locke & Key film, Albert Torres, wrote the screenplay for the 2008 Luke Wilson film Henry Poole is Here. He also worked on a draft of Akira for Warner Bros. and Ben 10 for Silver Pictures.

Locke & Key tells the story of three children who return to Keyhouse, their ancestral home in New England, after the brutal murder of their father. Not long after arriving, the kids realize that the enormous mansion contains magical keys that give their owners an array of powers and abilities. However, as Locke & Key continues, it becomes clear that a certain demon also wants to possess the keys.

The author of Locke & Key, Joe Hill — the son of author Stephen King — burst onto the literary world with a collection of short stories in 2005 called 20th Century Ghosts. His next book, Heart-Shaped Box, was released to wide critical acclaim in 2007. The Locke & Key author’s next offering, Inquisitr, was made into a film starring Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe. Last year’s NOS4A2 solidified the 42-year-old Locke & Key writer as a present-day master of the horror genre.

The first issue of Locke & Key, Welcome to Lovecraft sold out its entire run the day it was released, February 20, 2008. Dimension films picked up the rights to the comic almost immediately in 2008, before DreamWorks grabbed them in 2010, according to Slashfilm FOX TV then took a shot at a series version, which, as mentioned above, was canceled after the initial pilot — primarily, it’s been reported, due to the price tag.

The trailer for the Locke & Key pilot actually looked stunning:

At present, no director has been attached to the film version of Locke & Key.