See Elvira Reveal Her Surprising Character In Rob Zombie’s The Munsters Reboot
Look who she is!
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It’s a match made in Munsters heaven: Elvira, the Mistress of the Dark herself, has joined the cast of The Munsters! The Rob Zombie-directed reboot is looking to be a faithful adaptation of the horror comedy spoof, with a nod to the past. It only makes sense that one of horror’s biggest icons will appear, although her look is not what you may expect.
In an Instagram post, Zombie revealed the character Elvira will be playing, along with a picture. To the surprise of many, the character isn’t embodying the Elvira look, but instead, will look much like her regular self, aka Cassandra Peterson. “Straight from the set of THE MUNSTERS is your first look at Barbara Carr, the #1 real estate agent in all of Mockingbird Heights,” Zombie wrote. “Barbara is played by none other the CASSANDRA PETERSON @therealelvira. Yes, the Mistress of the Dark has joined the cast of THE MUNSTERS.”
Cassandra Petersen has been thrilling audiences as Elvira since 1981. As the host of Movie Macabre, a late-night offering of classic horror movies for a Los Angeles television station, Petersen created the Elvira persona and became an overnight sensation. She parlayed that into a nationally syndicated version of Movie Macabre, as well as two feature films.
Elvira reposted Zombie’s post on her own Instagram account, proclaiming “The cat’s out of the bag!” While she hasn’t revealed any new information on Instagram, she is discussing the film with Variety. “Here, I am playing this character that’s so so different from what I normally do, I’m playing a super straight character,” she said. “Barbara is a normal woman, this real estate agent. It was exciting and terrifying, but it was really cool.
“I had the best time with all of the actors that I was working with, and we had so much fun.” Peterson said. “The people there, the set, they built the house — oh my god, it was just all magical. It was like The Munsters came alive. It was insane.”
Zombie is a legendary heavy metal musician, but his true calling may be directing horror films. Not only has he helmed the 2007 reboot of the Halloween franchise, he directed modern horror classics including House of 1,000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects, and 2019’s 3 From Hell. His films have a tradition of casting horror legends in new roles, so it makes sense that he would cast Elvira for his latest project. Zombie had previously revealed on his Instagram account that the film would be rated PG, to appeal to a younger audience. A release date for the film has not yet been announced.
Like the classic TV sitcom it is based on, The Munsters film follows the exploits of a strange, gothic family who don’t quite understand that they don’t fit in with suburbia. Jeff Daniel Phillips will play Herman Munster, Sheri Moon Zombie is Lily Munster, Daniel Roebuck (LOST) plays Grandpa Munster, Jorge Garcia (also LOST) is Floop, Richard Brake plays Dr. Henry Augustus Wolfgang, Sylvester McCoy (Dr. Who and The Hobbit) is an inspired choice to play Igor, and, of course, Elvira as Barbara Karr. The Munster house is also being meticulously recreated, as we previously reported.
The Munsters movie is perfectly timed, as nostalgia for the classic show is on the upswing. Last fall, Heritage Auctions held a major TV and movie memorabilia auction featuring hundreds of Munsters items. Costumes, 60’s era merchandise, and limited edition collectibles sold for record prices. The auction house had also previously sold a number of Elvira items, including one of her gowns in 2012. This video, with original Eddie Munster himself Butch Patrick, highlights the auction items.
