39 Years Later, An Ambitious Remake of an ’80s Cult Classic Just Found The Perfect Director

Robert Eggers has a lot of projects in the pipeline. The director has been working on his latest film, , but after years in production purgatory, Alvarez dropped the project to pursue other ideas. Scott Derrickson, the director of Doctor Strange and Black Phone, took his place in 2020, with Lisa Henson of The Jim Henson Company boarding as a potential producer. Derrickson’s Labyrinth sequel would have brought Connelly back to play a grown-up Sarah — but after another four years of setbacks, it seems like that idea has finally been abandoned.

If Sneider’s intel is accurate, then Eggers will be helming a straightforward remake of Henson’s 1986 film. It’d likely be the filmmaker’s first project to forgo an R-rating, though knowing Eggers, his Labyrinth would be just as bleak as his previous films. The premise also aligns with Eggers’ quiet fascination with fairy tales: from Nosferatu to The Northman and even his 2007 remake of Hansel and Gretel, the director is always looking for ways to reinterpret a classic story. It’d be fascinating to see what direction he takes something like Labyrinth, as Henson’s vision has always been unique. It’s not clear how Eggers would interpret this story, or if he’ll end up rebooting Labyrinth at all, given its track record. But this potential update should sound good for fans of the original film, as it could finally get the update it deserves.