Scott Derrickson will direct a sequel to Jim Henson’s cult classic Labyrinth, Deadline reports.
Derrickson, who directed 2016’s Doctor Strange and passed on directing the upcoming sequel earlier this year, confirmed the news on Twitter. Henson’s daughter Lisa of the Jim Henson Company will produce, while his son Brian will executive produce. The script will be written by Maggie Levin — who recently wrote and directed Into the Dark: My Valentine on Hulu. “Think I’ll write a screenplay today,” Levin cracked.
Henson directed the musical fantasy in 1986 — four years after The Dark Crystal — with George Lucas as executive producer. It stars a teenage Jennifer Connelly as Sarah, who must go into the depths of a labyrinth to rescue her infant brother from Jareth the Golbin King, an iconic role played by David Bowie.
“I loved the magic, the mystery,” Bowie told Bravo of the role in 1987. “Jim Henson, George Lucas and I knew from the beginning I would play Jareth.” Added Henson in a separate interview about the late musician’s role: “Since we knew from the beginning that he was going to have to sing, we then thought it would be fun to bring rock music into a fantasy film, and the choice was easy: David is one of the best, if not the best, singer/actor of the moment, and he had the advantage of being able to be seductive, threatening, [and] scary.”
