Big news for Slaughter-Verse fans! It has been announced that Blumhouse has picked up Something is Killing the Children for a live-action feature film and adult animated series. As a massive fan myself, this is the best development fans could have asked for!
Something is killing the Children (SIKTC) is one of BOOM! Studios’ best selling series co-created by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera. Formerly picked up by Netflix, fans have been eagerly awaiting updates on the details of the series. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news yesterday that Blumhouse has taken over the IP and is set to produce both a live-action feature film and animated series.
Blum will produce the live-action feature for Blumhouse with the company’s Shaun Sutton and Ryan Turek serving as executive producers. Stephen Christy and Tynion will produce the film for Boom! Studios/Penguin Random House.
The adult animated series will see Tynion executive producing with Dell’Edera co-executive producing. Christy will executive produce the series for BOOM! with Adam Yoelin and Mette Norkjaer co-executive producing.
The Eisner Award-winning series SIKTC is one of the most influential and successful horror comic book series to date. Having taken the comic world by storm in 2019, the series is known for its potent lore and incredible world building. SIKTC takes place in a world where only children can see monsters—kids manifest them through their overactive imaginations and fears. There is a secret organization of monster hunters called the Order of St.George, but they are morally corrupt and prioritize keeping monsters a secret and constantly kill off witnesses—so yes something is killing the children and that thing is monsters and monster hunters.
The series follows the protagonist Erica Slaughter who constantly rebels against the Order in an attempt to save as many lives as she possibly can. She is one of the greatest characters in horror-history, known for her empathy, bad-assery, and deadpan attitude. This is just scratching the surface when it comes to the amazing lore and journey that Tynion and Dell’Edera take readers on!
Slaughter-Verse fans have expressed online their want for an animated series in addition to a live-action project for years. Paired with Tynion and Dell’Edera’s roles as producers—this is the best scenario fans could have asked for. An animated format will give the series more creative flexibility while the live action feature film will bring SIKTC to life through a fresh lens, both projects will definitely be bringing in new fans to the ever-expanding world of the Slaughter-Verse.
Admittedly as a big fan of Mike Flanagan, known for projects like The Haunting of Hill House and The Fall of the House of Usher, I was excited when his name was originally attached of there formerly-planned SIKTC Netflix series. Having left the project ages ago, the SIKTC series had seemingly been in development/announcement limbo up until this point. This is the best of both worlds for fans who wanted a live-action series and an animated project—and Blumhouse has been killing it lately with adaptations like The Black Phone and Five Nights at Freddy’s. With Tynion and Dell’Edera’s involvement, these projects are undoubtedly going to be massive successes. As a Slaughter-Verse fan this feels like a dream come true and I am beyond excited!
No release date has been set yet but follow Blumhouse, Tiny Onion, BOOM! Studios, James Tynion IV, and Werther Dell’Edera for updates!
Let me know if you’d like a list of my top 5 fan casts for Erica Slaughter next!
Sami DeMonster is the founder of The DeMonster and is a freelance writer for DC.com. She is mostly known for being a content creator who passionately shares her favorite comics and stories with people online–with an affinity towards horror. She works with most major comic book publishers to help promote new titles and encourage people to read more comics
