Deadline broke the news yesterday that a new Labyrinth movie is in the works.  While we’ve been hearing rumors about this for a few years now this is the first time there has been confirmation from both a movie studio and a director.

from Deadline:

TriStar has set Fede Alvarez (Don’t Breathe, Evil Dead) to direct a film that will delve into the universe Jim Henson hatched in the 1986 Jim Henson-directed cult classic Labyrinth. Alvarez and Jay Basu will co-write the story, with the latter penning the script.

The film is a co-production between TriStar Pictures and the Jim Henson Co. with Alvarez and Basu writing the script. Lisa Henson of the Henson Co. will produce, and Nicole Brown will oversee for TriStar.

They are very careful to stress that the iconic character of Jareth, created by the late David Bowie, will not be a part of the story.  Which is likely going to set up quite a challenge in writing an entire story within the world that Jim Henson created 31 years ago and that Jareth rules over.  In fact how does one get in to the Labyrinth without Jareth taking you there?

The studio confirmed, and Alvarez told Deadline: “Labyrinth is one of the seminal movies from my childhood that made me fall in love with filmmaking. I couldn’t be more thrilled to expand on Jim Henson’s mesmerizing universe and take a new generation of moviegoers back into the Labyrinth.”

It should be interesting to see what familiar characters make appearances in the new movie and what kind of unexpected new characters enter the mysterious world of The Labyrinth.

TriStar Rebirths World Of ‘Labyrinth:’ ‘Spider Web’s Fede Alvarez & Jay Basu Aboard