Neon and Hulu pick up Lupita Nyong’o headlined Little Monsters
By Alan French
Neon and Hulu have purchased the distribution rights to Lupita Nyong’o headlined Little Monsters, a children’s zombie flick.
Lupita Nyong’o seems to finally be getting lead roles in Hollywood films. It turns out, if you’re an Oscar-winning actress, it only takes six years for those roles to come your way. Luckily this year, she’ll be leading two horror films, Us from Jordan Peele, and the Sundance film Little Monsters.
Little Monsters was just acquired in a joint deal between Neon Pictures and the streaming service Hulu. According to Deadline, the deal should be in the mid-seven figures range, promising somewhere between $4 and $7 million. For the separate companies to buy in like this, there must be some real value in Little Monsters.
— Courtesy of Made Up Stories
More from 1428 Elm
- Shudder Original Terrified: Poltergeist or Dimensional Beings?
- Godzilla Minus One makes the King of the Monsters terrifying again
- A Creature Was Stirring scares up yuletide frights
- Unwrapping the Unhappy Holidays collection on Shudder
- Holiday Horror viewing guide: 20+ movies to stream this Christmas
The film follows Dave, (Alexander England), who crashes at his sister’s place after a breakup. He quickly notices his nephew’s teacher (Nyong’o), and volunteers to partake on a school trip. The trip, organized by a children’s TV personality Teddy McGiggle (Josh Gad), takes a turn when zombies begin to infect the world around them. The trio must save the children, but also buy-in on their creative ideas for how to fight back the undead horde.
For Nyong’o, 2019 got off to a great start. In the last 24 hours, she won a Screen Actors Guild prize as part of the ensemble of Black Panther. Now, her starring role in a zombie comedy just ensured it will be a widely seen film in theaters, and then on Hulu shortly after.
Director Abe Forsythe may not be a household name, but Little Monsters could help that situation. After all, it was a zombie flick that propelled directors like Edgar Wright and Zach Snyder into public attention. By all regards, Little Monsters seems like one of the breakthrough horror films of the year.
At the present, there is no word on when Little Monsters will hit theaters. However, watch for the surprisingly fun midnight film to get significant attention when it does. We’ll be on board for the zombie ride when it comes our way.
What do you think of Little Monsters? Will this add to Lupita Nyong’o’s already great 2019? Let us hear your comments below!