Jordan Peele Could Host The New ‘Twilight Zone’ Reboot
Submitted for your approval: aTwilight Zoneremake not only produced byJordan Peele, but also featuring him as on-screen host. The originalTwilight Zonekicked off each episode with creator Rod Serling stepping before the camera to introduce the story we were about to watch. As Peele works on his new take onThe Twilight Zone, he hasn’t ruled out the option of following Serling’s lead.
Even if you’ve somehow never watched an episode ofThe Twilight Zone, you’re likely familiar with the iconic image of creator Rod Serling, cigarette in hand, walking into the frame and introducing the twisted tale to come. Serling’s intros were always a highlight of the show – he was like a cold, indifferent god with supreme power and foresight. He’d walk into a scene after it had already begun, and none of the other actors noticed him. Only we could see him, and hear whatever haunting words he was about to impart. He was our phantom host – a droll, tight-lipped guide into a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind.
Rod Serling Twilight Zone Intro
Get Outdirector Jordan Peele is currently developing aTwilight Zonerebootfor CBS All Access. Like Serling, Peele is the driving force behind the show, so the question has to be asked – will Peele take on Serling’s on-screen narrator role? Maybe! At the very least, the filmmaker hasn’t ruled the idea out. Speaking withVariety, Peele says he’s “resisted but not ruled out” the idea of appearing on screen. Even if he ultimately doesn’t, the interview makes clear that he really gets what madeThe Twilight Zoneso special to begin with, and what a new take on the show can achieve.
“The realization, for me, was that it was an opportunity to attempt to continue with Serling’s mission,” Peele says. “If we approach it without ego and sort of bow to Serling, that will hopefully suffice for our fellow Twilight Zone fans but also bring back a show that I think is needed right now. Because it’s a show that has always helped us look at ourselves, hold a mirror up to society.”
This echoes the statement Peelemadewhen the project was first announced: “Too many times this year it’s felt we were living in a twilight zone, and I can’t think of a better moment to reintroduce it to modern audiences.”
There’s no air date yet for Peele’sTwilight Zone, but 2019 is probably a good guess. At which point I’ll finally have to sign-up for CBS All Access.
