See Elvira In Rob Zombie’s The Munsters Reboot
Elvira's back!
This article is more than 2 years old
Rob Zombie, the musician turned film director, has a knack for turning out cult-status horror flicks. For his latest project, a feature film reboot of the beloved sixties sitcom The Munsters, Zombie has added an iconic cult figure to the cast list, none other than Elvira: Mistress of the Dark. Rob Zombie confirmed the casting of actress Cassandra Peterson on his Instagram account.
You can see Peterson — best known for her iconic take as Horror icon Elvira — posing in her new role as Barbara Carr on the set of The Munsters feature film reboot below. Out is the iconic long black hair and jumpsuit, and in is a smart pink suit. The image marks a far departure in costume when compared to her most famous role.
Of course, Cassandra Peterson cannot be mentioned without reference to the mischievous Elvira, the role that helped make the actress a household name. The actress has been donning her horror ‘persona’ for roughly four decades in shows such as Elvira’s Movie Macabre, a weekly show that had Peterson presenting various B movies with insight as The Mistress of the Dark. The character infused the horror genre with cheek, wit and a dash of gothic sexiness. Elvira achieved peak status with the feature film release Elvira, Mistress of the Dark in 1988 and Elvira has gone on to haunt television and cinema screens ever since. There was another feature film in 2001, Elvira’s Haunted Hills and the character has appeared throughout the years on SNL, The Grammy Awards and RuPaul’s Drag Race to name a few. Elvira even appeared on Netflix last October for the aptly titled mini-series Netflix and Chills, presenting the streamer’s Horror output for the Halloween festive period.
However, in an article by Entertainment Weekly, Cassandra Peterson describes a story that, had things turned out differently, would have meant the world would never have seen Elvira. According to the actress, fans of the Horror Icon have none other than Elvis to thank: “I was 17 when I started as a showgirl in Las Vegas — Elvis came to see my show — he convinced me that this was no town for a young girl to be in, by herself, and that it would not lead to bigger and better things, that if I really wanted to make it in show business that I needed to get the Hell out of Vegas. So, I always say to people, I started out as the youngest showgirl in Vegas and, if it wasn’t for Elvis, I would now be the oldest showgirl.”
So Rob Zombie and the rest of the world have the godfather of rock and roll Elvis Presley to thank for not only four decades of Elvira, but now Cassandra Peterson’s casting in The Munsters reboot. The movie, currently filming, but without a set release date, is based on the iconic CBS sitcom that had a two-season run in the sixties. It features the Transylvanian Munster family of friendly monsters who up sticks and move to the United States. The show ran for seventy episodes and played on popular family-based suburban sitcom tropes, albeit with a fun ghoulish twist. When Rob Zombie broke the news he would be bringing the cinematic reboot to life, he couldn’t contain his excitement, as he shares a fondness of the original show that is felt by many. Like his Elvira announcement, Zombie told fans the news of the project via Instagram, going on to say, “Attention Boils and Ghouls!,” Zombie wrote. “The rumors are true! My next film project will be the one I’ve been chasing for 20 years! THE MUNSTERS!
Since then, Zombie has gone on to announce several cast members that Elvira star Cassandra Peterson will be sharing the screen with. Herman Munster will be played by Jeff Daniel Phillips, Lily Munster will be played by Sheri Moon Zombie, and Daniel Roebuck will play the cheerful and lovable Grandpa Munster. The Munsters is certainly building up to be another fan favourite for Rob Zombie and co, and with his announcement of Elvira joining the fun coming with the tagline “Stay tuned more news to come,” it looks like there will be plenty more exciting information to come out Mockingbird Lane in the coming days.
