The Righteous Gemstones has ended, and HBO hitmaker Danny McBride is looking for his next project. Many horror fans were hoping that he would next turn his attention to The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, a 2020 novel by Grady Hendrix; a Max adaptation of the novel was announced last year, with both McBride and fellow Gemstone Edi Patterson on board. However, in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, McBride reveals that the project has stalled.

Set in the 1990s, Hendrix‘s book centers around an unfulfilled homemaker who joins a book club, only to enlist their help when she realizes one of her neighbors is a deadly vampire. Says McBride, speculating that the book’s mixture of comedy and horror makes it a tough sell: “We haven’t gotten much momentum on it. Even at HBO, it’s tough making a 30-minute show ensemble that mixes genres. Really difficult. I love that property and would love to do something with it, but I don’t know. We worked on it for a bit and we weren’t getting the reaction to it that we were wanting. it’s sort of floating out there right now.” McBride does still believe in the project, but implies the decision is out of his hands: “To me, it’s a no-brainer. I feel like HBO should just want to go greenlight that now. We should have moved right into shooting the pilot after we wrapped Gemstones. Maybe it’s just not what they’re looking for right now.”

What Other Horror Projects Has Danny McBride Been Involved With?

Although he’s best known for comedy series like Eastbound and Down and Vice Principals, McBride has deep horror roots. With director David Gordon Green, McBride penned the scripts for the legacy slasher sequels Halloween, Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends; McBride also executive produced the trilogy of films, which brought Jamie Lee Curtis‘ Laurie Strode back to do battle with her nemesis, Michael Myers. Less successful at reviving a moribund franchise was The Exorcist: Believer, which McBride executive produced and contributed to the story. In front of the camera, McBride starred as salt-of-the-earth starship pilot Tennessee in Ridley Scott‘s Alien: Covenant.

One of Hendrix‘s novels, My Best Friend’s Exorcism, was already adapted as a film in 2022. He also penned the scripts for the horror films Mohawk and Satanic Panic.

Danny McBride‘s adaptation of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires has stalled, and may not be moving forward.

via Collider