‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Creators to Reimagine Mel Brooks Comedy Classic ‘Young Frankenstein’ for FX!!

It’s alive! According to Deadline, another of Mel Brooks‘s comedy classics is being zapped back to life in a way nobody saw coming. FX is nearing a pilot order for a new series based on 1974’s Young Frankenstein, which will come from a trio behind another macabre satire series — What We Do in the Shadows. If the deal is finalized and a series is ordered, Stefani Robinson will serve as writer and showrunner, with Taika Waititi directing the pilot, and Garrett Basch also attached. All three will serve as executive producers alongside Brooks, who has given the project his blessing.

Robinson, Waititi, and Basch‘s project will go under the name Very Young Frankenstein, though further details of the reimagining are currently under wraps outside the fact that it will be inspired by Brook‘s classic horror parody. We do know, however, that it will feature several of Brooks‘s collaborators working on the production. Kevin Salter, the legendary director’s producing partner who most recently joined him on History of the World, Part II, is also involved as an executive producer alongside Michael Gruskoff, the producer behind the original Young Frankenstein. Casting hasn’t begun at this time, though a pilot order should get things moving quickly.

Although she’s mostly been active on the production end, Robinson has done her fair share of writing, with credits on eleven episodes of the acclaimed What We Do in the Shadows, which itself was based on the feature written and directed by Waititi and Jemaine Clement. Tackling Young Frankenstein will be an altogether different beast for the team, though, considering its status as one of Brook‘s most iconic films and one of the greatest comedies ever to grace the big screen. It centers on Frederick Frankenstein, pronounced “Fronkensteen” and played by Gene Wilder, the grandson of Victor Frankenstein, who tries to distance himself from the mad scientist until he inherits his grandfather’s estate. With help from his new assistants, he starts going down a similar path, cobbling together a monster of his own to restore the Frankenstein name, only for hilarity to ensue when it busts out and brings chaos to Transylvania. It also featured a very strong cast around Wilder, including Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn, Teri Garr, and Peter Boyle as the monster.

‘Young Frankenstein’ Is Just the Latest Mel Brooks Comedy to Make Its Return

Brooks has been busy finding ways to return to his old films lately. Back in 2023, he revisited History of the World with a series on Hulu, which featured a cavalcade of stars headed by Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, and Ike Barinholtz. More recently, however, the focus has been on Spaceballs 2, which is being written by Josh Gad and will see the nonagenarian Brooks reprise his role as the sage-like Yoda parody Yogurt in the sequel to his sci-fi satire. He’s not the only one returning, either. Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, and Daphne Zuniga are set to reprise their roles as Dark Helmet, Lone Starr, and Vespa, respectively, with some exciting newcomers including Keke Palmer and Lewis Pullman.