Joe Hill’s Locke & Key comic series finally gets the pilot it deserves!

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

This is it, you guys! At long-f*cking-last, someone has had the brains to bring the ceaselessly entertaining LOCKE & KEY comic book series by writer Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez to screen! Who would be so awesome, you ask? Why none other than Hulu, Joe Hill, Carlton Cuse (BATES MOTEL, THE STRAIN), and comic book publisher IDW Entertainment, that's who! Oh, and I almost forgot, DOCTOR STRANGE helmer Scott Derrickson is set to direct the one-hour pilot that Hulu has ordered. 

As the story goes, Cuse developed the project with Hill, who also lent his pen to the script. Shortly thereafter, the finished script ws sent to Derrickson, who reportedly jumped at the opportunity to bring the horrific stories of the Locke family to life for television audiences. But wait, there's more! If the pilot is a success, and the show is picked up for a series order, Derrickson is expected to remain on the project while directing several episodes belonging to the show's first season. 

LOCKE & KEY centers around Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode Locke, three siblings who, after the gruesome murder of their father, move to their ancestral home in Maine only to find the house has magical keys that grant them a vast array of potentially dangerous powers and abilities. What the Locke family doesn't know, is that there's a devilish demon who lives in the shadow's of their home who desires the keys, and will stop at nothing to posses them.

Carlton Cuse is set to serve as LOCKE & KEY's showrunner. Additionally, Cuse will executive produce alongside Hill; Derrickson, Lindsey Springer of Carlton Cuse Prods, CEO of IDW Media Holdings Ted Adams, and President of IDW Entertainment David Ozer. Fun Fact: LOCKE & Key was previously adapted during Fox's 2010-11 season when it reached pilot status with Josh Friedman writing and Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orici producing alongside Dreamworks TV. Unfortunately – though maybe it no longer matter now – the project was not granted a series order.

I can barely breathe over here, you guys! LOCKE & KEY is by far and away one of the coolest comic book series I've ever read, and now that it's being adapted for the screen I'm feeling compelled to read it all over again. If done right, LOCKE & KEY could end up being one of the coolest comic-to-screen adaptations we've yet to see, so long as its roots in horror and supernatural mystery remain firmly intact. I'm going to make damn sure that we keep an eye on this one as more news rolls out. In the meantime, be sure to swing past your local comic shop or favorite comic book retailer to read the entire series before the pilot hits Hulu at some point down the road.

Source: Deadline Hollywood

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He's also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You'll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.