2026 will mark the 40th anniversary of the release of the musical fantasy film Labyrinth… and if all goes well, we might be able to celebrate the anniversary with a new film that’s set in the world of the original film. Such a project has been making its way through development hell for several years, and now Jeff Sneider of The InSneider has revealed that he has heard that The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman, and Nosferatu writer/director Robert Eggers has closed a deal to co-write and direct the new Labyrinth film!

This project first started moving forward in 2016, when Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel writer Nicole Perlman signed on to write the screenplay. Fede Álvarez (Alien: Romulus) was hired to direct the film in 2017, and he wrote his own draft of the script with Jay Basu. The script was complete by October 2018… but the project didn’t go into production, and Álvarez dropped out in 2020. That same year, Scott Derrickson (Doctor Strange) was hired to direct the film. He wrote his own version of the script with Maggie Levin, and Labyrinth star Jennifer Connelly confirmed that there had been conversations about her being involved in the new movie. In late 2023, Derrickson said he wasn’t sure the project would move forward because it was “so imaginative and surreal” that it might not be commercially viable. He was off the project by early 2024.

The new Labyrinth movie is being produced by Lisa Henson, with The Jim Henson Company’s Brian Henson serving as an executive producer. In February of this year, Lisa Henson told Paste, “We just haven’t been able to get the script right. We’ve had a couple of scripts written, and we’re gonna start over again. We’re gonna start with a new script and a new director so it won’t be anytime soon.“

Now, if Sneider’s sources are correct, it looks like Robert Eggers is the new director who will be working on a new script. Apparently his approach is make a follow-up to Labyrinth rather than a reboot of it, and he’s expected to write the script with someone who has collaborated with him previously – meaning either his brother Max Eggers (The Lighthouse) or poet, novelist, lyricist, and screenwriter Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson, a.k.a. Sjón (The Northman). Sneider thinks the co-writer will be Sjón.

Along with Eggers, producers Chris Columbus and Eleanor Columbus have boarded the project.

Directed by Jim Henson (who also crafted the story with Dennis Lee) from a screenplay by Terry Jones, Labyrinth had the following synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Sarah is given thirteen hours to solve a labyrinth and rescue her baby brother Toby when her wish for him to be taken away is granted by the Goblin King Jareth. Connelly played Sarah, with David Bowie as Jareth.

What do you think of the idea of Robert Eggers directing a Labyrinth follow-up? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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