Last year, we got word that Eli Roth was developing a television series adaptation of his 2005 horror movie “Hostel” for the streaming service Peacock. The show was set to star Oscar-nominated actor Paul Giamatti, and Roth was on board to write, direct, and produce the project.
Roth now tells OG film journalist Edward Douglas of The Weekend Warrior that Peacock has passed on the “Hostel” series, but he’s now redeveloping it as a theatrical feature. Is Giamatti still involved? I sure hope so.
The series was supposed to be a modern-day reinvention of the original film’s premise, famously—or infamously—involving unsuspecting travelers who stay at cheap European hostels, only to find themselves abducted by an underground network called the “Elite Hunting Club,” which allows wealthy individuals to torture and kill them.
Why did Peacock pass on the series? Maybe it was too gory for its own tastes.
There have been three “Hostel” movies released so far, with the first two hitting theaters and the third—and most recent—installment going straight to home video in 2011.
Roth, a director best known for his contributions to the torture-porn genre, is coming off the horrendous experience he had with 2024’s “Borderlands” and has “Ice Cream Man” set to hit theaters in August.
Alongside “Ice Cream Man” and a Snoop Dogg project titled “Don’t Go In That House, Bitch,” Roth is also expected to shoot a sequel to 2023’s “Thanksgiving” — which, oddly enough, holds the highest Rotten Tomatoes score of his career. Personally, I’ve always favored 2002’s “Cabin Fever,” which I consider his strongest work.
Denzel playing a broken ex-cop with nothing to lose, under McQuarrie's direction? We all know Washington loves to attach himself to redemption stories. It's his bread and butter.