Tim Burton reveals he tried to make a House of Wax musical remake with Michael Jackson starring, only for it to be turned down by studios.
With a variety of other projects having never come to fruition, Tim Burton reveals he wanted to make a House of Wax musical remake with Michael Jackson starring. The string of eponymous horror movies stems from Charles S. Belden’s unpublished short story “The Wax Works,” revolving around a wax museum run by a mysterious sculptor and harboring a dark secret. The story was first brought to the big screen with 1933’s Mystery of the Wax Museum, which would go on to inspire a variety of remakes, including Vincent Price’s House of Wax.
The property last made its way to cinemas with 2005’s House of Wax remake starring Elisha Cuthbert, Jared Padalecki and Chad Michael Murray as a group of college friends who get stranded in a ghost town, and discover a wax museum ran by two sadistic brothers. Helmed by future Black Adam director Jaume Collet-Serra, the horror film was met with generally negative reviews from critics for its routine slasher formula and lack of closer ties to Price’s original movie. Though it has garnered somewhat of a cult following, namely thanks to Paris Hilton’s death in the film, one filmmaker was eager to bring a new take to the House of Wax property.
While talking with Deadline at the Lumière Festival, Burton recalled his efforts to try and get a variety of projects off the ground throughout his career. One such project was a musical-style remake of the slasher horror movie House of Wax, which Burton said he was eyeing Michael Jackson to star in, with the pop singer being eager to take part. See what Burton said about why it didn’t move forward below: “I have worked for several months on things that got rejected. [The studio] said ‘no’. Can you believe that? [Laughs]”
Given the largely serious nature of the prior adaptations, some may find the concept of a Michael Jackson-starring House of Wax musical remake questionable. However, it wouldn’t be the first horror-based musical to grace the big screen, with the genre having previously seen success with the likes of the Tim Curry-led The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the Rick Moranis-starring Little Shop of Horrors. Even more niche corners of the horror genre have been given the musical treatment, including Darren Lynn Bousman’s Repo! The Genetic Opera, The Devil’s Carnival and Anna and the Apocalypse, proving that with the right minds behind them, any story can get a musical twist.
With Michael Jackson now having passed, and the filmmaker currently focused on his Addams Family-based Netflix show Wednesday, Burton’s House of Wax musical remake is unlikely to ever see the light of day, especially given the studio’s lack of prior interest. Additionally, with the last House of Wax remake only proving to be a modest success, it seems even less likely Warner Bros. wants to revisit the property in the near future. Those who want to revisit the latter can find 2005’s House of Wax movie streaming on Fubo and Kanopy now.
