Locke & Key Nearing Series Order At Netflix, To Undergo Reshoots

After Hulu locked up when considering Locke & Key, Netflix opened its doors. 

As detailed by The Hollywood Reporter, the streaming giant has picked up the television adaptation of IDW Publishing's acclaimed horror comic Locke & Key and is nearing an official series order deal with Carlton Cuse on board as showrunner. The news follows after fellow streamer Hulu passed on the pilot to the potential series, according to actress Samantha Mathis, who was tied to the project in a mystery role. 

Sources close to THR note that the deal isn't completely done just yet, but Netflix is in negotiations to license the rights for the IP and "redevelop the drama with IDW Entertainment." This includes reshooting the pilot episode, as "the Netflix series is not the Hulu pilot," and hiring an "entirely new cast and new director." It director Andy Muschietti helmed the Hulu pilot, but is no longer available to direct, as he has his hands full with It: Chapter Two. He'll still receive an executive producer credit on the Locke & Key series at Netflix, however. 

The Hulu Locke & Key pilot starred Frances O'Connor (The Conjuring 2) as the Locke matriarch Nina, Megan Charpentier (It, Mama) as Kinsey Locke, Jack Mulhern (Walking to the Waterline) as Tyler Locke, and Jackson Robert Scott (It, Fear the Walking Dead) as Bode Locke. Owen Teague (It, Bloodline) was also on board to portray Sam Lesser and Nate Corddry (The Circle, Children's Hospital) was attached as Duncan Locke. The pilot also featured Bobby Daniels (Bedtime Stories for Men) as Officer Brunt, Danny Glover (the Lethal Weapon franchise, Predator 2) as Joe Ridgeway, and David Webster (Cardinal) as Al Grubb. 

While THR's report implies that Netflix will scrap the whole cast roster and refill it, Deadline notes that the streamer will recast "two of the three Locke children," with Jackson Robert Scott staying on board as Bode. 

Locke & Key follows the three Locke siblings who move into their ancestral home in Maine following their father's vicious murder. As the trio turn over a new leaf, entering a new chapter in their lives, they and their mother learn that the home has magical keys that grant them supernatural abilities. Unfortunately, the Lockes aren't the only ones who are transfixed by the keys: a demon is on the hunt for the keys as well — and will stop at nothing to seize them. 

Hulu reportedly kept the Locke & Key writers room open "long after" the pilot episode, and had seven scripts already completed. Locke & Key comic writer Joe Hill penned the pilot script. 

For the time being, as the project undergoes its massive renovation, it remains unclear when Locke & Key will premiere on Netflix.