Summary
Horror-comedyfans werethisclose to getting something they’d been waiting years for until the cinematic boogeyman himself came along and pulled the plug. Hollywood really can be a cruel, unforgiving place.
2010’shorror-comedyTucker & Dale vs. Evil—which stars Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine as two ragged hillbillies mistaken for murderers—came and went without much fanfare at the box office upon release, not even managing to gross $250,000 in the United States. All cinephiles knowbox office numbers are never the end of the story, andTucker & Dalebecame a cult hit thanks to positive word of mouth and solid critical reviews. As such, plans to get a sequel off the ground came and went over the years. Writer/director Eli Craig spent time grinding away on a newTucker & Dalewhen he wasn’t working onZombieland: The Series,Little Evil, or recent minor hitClown in a Cornfield. As it turns out, one person in particular stopped aTucker & Dalespinoff from hitting television screens.
Eli Craig recently sat down foran exclusive withSlashFilm,and the director elaborated that none other than Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav is responsible for stopping theTucker & Daletelevision spinoff in its tracks. “It’s always been a struggle,” Craig stated. “…[T]hen, when we do set it up, and we get all the pieces together, it gets killed somehow. We almost did a TV show with it that was on TNT/TBS, and you’ll be happy to know that David Zaslav, the slayer of all cinema, came in and put the final nail in the coffin forTucker & Daleas we were about to go to series, and just cancelled all production.”
“[I]t was more like Tucker & Dale, but detectives. Detective Tucker and Dale, like, stupidly trying to figure out what’s happening in a world where they’re always getting it wrong and people are dying around them.”
David Zaslav Robbed The Masses Of More Alan Tudyk-Tyler Labine Shenanigans
It’ll come as no great shock to cinema fans everywhere thatthe notorious David Zaslavhad his hand in shelving a newTucker & Daleproject. After all, this is the man who has canceled the release of multiple finished films. Anyone who was counting on watchingBatgirl,Scoob!: Holiday Haunt, orCoyote vs. Acme(hey,you’ll actually be able to watch that last one!) knows that Zaslav is all about the bottom line at any cost he deems necessary.
In this case, it cost horror-comedy fans more of the delightful pairing of character acting greats Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine. Thanks to the popularity ofFirefly, every Walt Disney Animation Studios film since 2012, and his numerous voice acting gigs over the years,Tudyk is undoubtedly the more well-known of the duo. That being said, Labine is certainly no slouch. The Canadian-born actor has been a mainstay on television for decades now, appearing in everything fromInvasionandNew AmsterdamtoReaperandVoltron: Legendary Defender.
Nabbing Tudyk and Labine in the first place was an utter coup for Craig and company. Getting them to return for more would simply be the icing on the cake. When speaking toSlashFilm, Craig mentioned that aTucker & Dalesequel/spinoff is “always a possibility” and thatfans should keep their hopes alive. If there is one thing this world needs, it’s definitely a little morehorror-comedy.
