In rather unexpected, but no less exciting, news today, a television series based on Eli Roth‘s gorefest Hostel is in the works – with the legendary Paul Giamatti set to star.
The Hollywood Reporter, who revealed the news exclusively earlier today, report that the series is described as being a “modern adaptation” and an “elevated thriller” that’s also a “reinvention” of the horror franchise that launched in 2005 and spawned two sequels.
THR reminds us that the original movie revolved around three backpackers as they headed to a Slovak city that promised to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaited them.
The controversial movie grossed $82 million worldwide on a $4.8 million budget, and marked Roth as a key player in the much-debated ‘torture porn’ subgenre.
Roth will direct, and co-write the series along with franchise producer Chris Briggs. Roth, Briggs and Mike Fleiss (Hostel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) will also executive produce.
Giamatti, fresh off his Golden Globe win for Best Actor in last year’s The Holdovers, recently said he would like to do more horror, not to mention he’s come close to working with Roth before, recounting in an interview back in 2013:
“Eli was shooting Hostel in Prague and I was shooting The Illusionist and I met him. We talked about me actually killing somebody in that movie but it never panned out.”
Hey, better late than never right Paul?
The Hostel series is currently in development and does not yet have a platform attached – but we’ll bring you all the grisly updates as they roll in. Stay tuned.
