There are few names bigger in the world of horror than H.P. Lovecraft, having crafted a number of terrifying tales throughout his career, which allows the upcoming HBO adaptation Lovecraft Country to embrace all corners of the author’s lore, but showrunner Misha Green recently teased that the program also used other well-known horror titles as references, regardless of their connection to the author. As evidenced by the first trailers and teasers for the new series, there will also be plenty of Lovecraft lore tossed in for good measure. Tune in to the series premiere of Lovecraft Country on Sunday, August 16th.
“Everything in the genre space is a huge influence and genre fans will definitely see those Easter eggs and influences throughout,” Green shared during a virtual TCA event, per Deadline. Of those references, both The Shining and the Amityville Horror franchise were specified, while also noting, “Later you’ll see we use Nightmare on Elm Street and Freddy Krueger to tell what it’s like to be a young Black girl in America.”
Lovecraft Country follows 25-year-old Koren war vet Atticus Black (Da 5 Bloods‘ Jonathan Majors), who joins up with his friend Letitia “Leti” Dandridge (Birds of Prey‘s Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and his Uncle George (The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story‘s Courtney B. Vance) to embark on a road trip to find his missing father. Atticus, known for always having a pulp novel in his back pocket, wears his heart on his sleeve despite the daily injustice of living in 1950s Jim Crow America. The trio must survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and the malevolent spirits that could be ripped from a Lovecraft paperback.
Green is also an executive producer on the series, as are Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams. The showrunner noted that she was only able to pull off the ambitious endeavor thanks to the accomplishments of her fellow producers with their previous projects.
“I think this would have been incredibly hard to get on screen if Get Out hadn’t come out. I think that paved the way for people to really open up to the idea of seeing more black people in genre spaces,” Green confessed. She also noted, “It’s an epic journey that wouldn’t have been possible if we weren’t making TV at the level that started with Lost and that pilot.”
Tune in to the series premiere of Lovecraft Country on Sunday, August 16th on HBO.
Are you looking forward to the series? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!
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