Summary
There’s good news forThe Mortuary Assistant’sfan base as the video game’s live-action adaptation has welcomed its main stars, one of whom should be familiar to viewers of the CW TV showArrow.
The Mortuary Assistantis a video game-to-film adaptation based on Brian Clarke’s 2022 indie horror game of the same name. Courtesy of Epic Pictures under the Dread label, the film’s storyline maintains the eeriness of the source material: Rebecca Owens, a new Mortician at the haunted River Fields Mortuary who embalms corpses, gets haunted by the supernatural creatures that prowl her workplace.The Mortuary Assistantis a bestseller, selling over 400,000 units so far and generating nearly $1 million in revenue within its first month of release on Steam. Thus, it’s no surprise that, barely a month into its release, a live-action adaptation was announced with Jeremy Kipp set to direct from Tracee Beebe and Clark’s adapted screenplay.
Jeremy Kipp is Still Pegged as Director
An exclusiveDeadlinereport reveals that33-year-oldArrowstar Willa Holland will play Rebecca, starring alongside 53-year-old Paul Sparks (fromHouse of Cards), who plays Raymond Delver, her mortician boss and mentor. Kipp promises a movie that would not only expand on the game’s lore and focus on the dread of the game familiar with players, but one that “will be scary as hell.” Creator Clarke also approves of the director—calling him “insanely skilled” and the collaboration one of the “highlights” of his career—as well as Willa and Paul.
Although Willa has previously starred in over a dozen roles in the course of her twenty-year career –such asStraw DogsandA Summer in Genoa, she is bound to be remembered by her Thea Queen –sister of the DC billionaire vigilante Oliver Queen/Green Arrow – in theCW TV shows,ArrowandThe Flash. Thankfully for Epic Pictures, she’s not a stranger to video game roles, having voiced the recurring character Aqua in theKingdom Heartsfranchise.
Sparks, meanwhile, has a more polished career than his co-star. The Oklahoma-native has featured in well-known series likeHouse of CardsandMidnight Special, bagging an Emmy nomination for the former. He also knows his way behind the camera, helmingSlapface,Don’t Pick Up,andBlack Wake.
A release date is yet to be pegged forThe Mortuary Assistant, but that doesn’t mean the world is clueless as to its potential release window. Traditionally in Hollywood, the period between casting and release is about one to two years; for low-budget horror movies likeThe Mortuary Assistantadaptation, it’s even smaller at six months to a year. Regardless of which year it finally releases,The Mortuary Assistantplayers will belong to a rare group who have had their favorite games granted a live-action adaptation within such a short time. No one should expectSonic the HedgehogorA Minecraft Movielevels of hypeor commercial success, though.
