Exclusive: Labyrinth TV Series In The Works
The Goblin King, sadly, is no longer with us but his home lives on. According to our trusted and proven sources, the Jim Henson Company is developing a TV series based on the 1986 classic Labyrinth. They also made sure to point out that the previously announced big screen sequel is also still on the way.
We’ve exclusively learned a Labyrinth TV series is in development at the Jim Henson Company.
Without any more details available for the series in development or the film sequel, it’s impossible to say why the Jim Henson Company is developing both. One likely possibility is that with Labyrinth they’re hoping to do what continues to be done throughout Hollywood — copying the Marvel model and creating a cinematic universe.
It’s also tempting to speculate that the news of a series being in development means Labyrinth 2, while technically still in development, may be finding its way to Development Limbo if not already there. In 2021, when Collider asked Labyrinth star Jennifer Connelly if she would be involved with the sequel, she admitted she’d “had conversations about it,” but expressed doubt about whether it would materialize.
While Disney‘s acquisition of The Muppets franchise may give the impression the corporation counts the Jim Henson Company in its stable of studios like Marvel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm, this is not the case.
Labyrinth 2 was first announced as being in development back in 2016. The first screenwriters attached to the project were Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Jay Basu (The Girl in the Spider’s Web), and by 2017 Fede Alvarez (Alien: Romulus) was on board to direct. Alvarez would soon step aside to be replaced by Scott Derrickson (Doctor Strange) with Maggie Levin (Into the Dark) writing.
Derrickson and Levin’s boarding Labyrinth 2 in 2020 was the last official word to surface about the sequel.
Regardless of the future of the film follow up, one important detail to remember about the upcoming Labyrinth series is that it will not necessarily show up on one of the Disney-owned streamers like Hulu and Disney+. While Disney’s acquisition of The Muppets franchise may give the impression the corporation counts the Jim Henson Company in its stable of studios like Marvel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm, this is not the case.
In 2021, when Collider asked Labyrinth star Jennifer Connelly if she would be involved with the sequel, she admitted she’d “had conversations about it,” but expressed doubt about whether it would materialize.
In 2004, the Jim Henson Company sold The Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House properties to Disney, but it remains an independent company owned by the late Jim Henson’s grown children. There were merger talks between Henson and Disney between 1989 and 1990, but they ended with Henson’s passing.
Labyrinth released in theaters in 1986, and despite disappointing box office returns, the musical fantasy film would become a beloved cult classic. Jennifer Connelly stars in one of her first big screen roles, as the young teenage Sarah who unintentionally gives her infant brother to the goblins. The late David Bowie plays Jareth, the king of the goblins, who gives Sarah 13 hours to solve his labyrinth and save her brother.
When we have more details about the plans for the Labyrinth series, we’ll make sure you know.
