Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events is possibly the only book series on Earth where the narrator urges you to stop reading–a trend which continues in the first trailer for the Netflix series based on the books.
A Series Of Unfortunate Movie Events
Back in 2004, during the height of Potter-mania, Nickelodeon attempted to create a series of films of their own. Their source material? The 13-book series A Series of Unfortunate Events, written by Daniel Handler under the pen-name Lemony Snicket. Nick only put out the first movie, which incorporated the first three books, before giving up.
While the movie was great fun and beautifully costumed, it did not do as well as Nick and Paramount wanted it to in theatres. During production, the film suffered from scheduling setbacks, directors and writers signing on and then leaving, and budget restraints. Even after the film garnered critical acclaim and an Academy Award for makeup, the project was still abandoned.
Netflix to the Rescue
Nickelodeon may have abandoned the Series of Unfortunate Events, but fans of the books and movies never gave up hope. Even Handler returned to the world of Snicket and the Beaudelaires, creating a series called All the Wrong Questions.
Considering the continued popularity of a book series that’s almost as old as Harry Potter, it’s no surprise that Netflix picked up the property. Not only have they picked it up, but the series is the most expensive that the streaming service has produced to date.
So far details about the show are scarce, but most of the big-hitters have been cast. Neil Patrick Harris (Count Olaf), Malina Weissman (Voilet Beaudelaire), and Louis Hynes (Klaus Beaudelaire) make up the core cast, while Bernadette Peters (Aunt Josephine), Joan Cusack (Justice Strauss), and K. Todd Freeman (Mr. Poe) will also make appearances. Perhaps most surprising is the early reveal of Patrick Warburton as Snicket. In the books (and film), Snickets face was always kept hidden in order to protect him from some unnamed danger.
A Series of Unfortunate Events will release on Friday, January 13th, 2017. Tune in if you dare.
