Javier Botet Has a Role in ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ So Get Ready for the Nightmares

Now filming, the Guillermo del Toro-produced, André Øvredal-directed Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark will bring Alvin Schwartz’s stories and Stephen Gammell’s illustrations to the big screen next year, and we’ve learned via a chat with Rue Morgue this week that creature performer Javier Botet has a role in the adaptation!

With roles in films like [REC], Mama, The Conjuring 2 and Crimson Peak, Botet has brought some of the most terrifying creatures in recent years to the screen, so this is very exciting news. After all, with Botet on board, we can be sure that at least one of the film’s creatures is guaranteed to do justice to Gammell’s iconic (and bone-chilling) illustrations.

“[Guillermo del Toro and I are] going to work together again because he’s producing SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK, and I have a little part in that,” Botet told the site. “I can’t say—like in IT: CHAPTER TWO, I can’t tell you what I’m doing there either.”

From what we’ve recently heard, early drafts of the script featured the scarecrow from Harold and the girl with spiders coming out of her face from The Red Spot.

“Inspired by one of the most terrifying book series of all time, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark follows a group of teens who must solve the mystery surrounding a wave of spectacularly horrific deaths in their small town.”

Young actress Zoe Colletti (Annie) was the first name to be announced from the ensemble, with the full cast now including Michael Garza (Wayward Pines, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1), Austin Abrams (Brad’s Status, The Americans), Gabriel Rush (Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel), Austin Zajur (Fist Fight, Kidding), and Natalie Ganzhorn (Make it Pop, Wet Bum).

Kevin Hageman and Dan Hageman (LEGO Movie, Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia) co-wrote the screenplay with Academy Award-winner Guillermo del Toro and Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan (The Collector, Saw IV-VII, Feast, Piranha 3D) from the bestselling trilogy of books by Alvin Schwartz.

The film is being produced by Guillermo del Toro as well as Sean Daniel and Jason Brown of Hivemind along with Academy Award-winner J. Miles Dale and Elizabeth Grave.

Scary Stories is expected to release in 2019.