While there are perpetually dozens of Stephen King-related projects in the works, one of the fastest to come together in recent months is an upcoming follow-up to the 2019 adaptation of Pet Sematary. The film, set to be made as a Paramount+ original feature, was only first announced in the early months of 2021, but writer/director Lindsey Beer came aboard in May, and it’s been full steam ahead ever since. This very much includes the building of an ensemble cast, as the production has already announced a few interesting stars who will be appearing.
Plot details about the new Pet Sematary movie are being kept very hush-hush, but for reasons that will become clear very shortly it appears that it will function as a prequel to the original Stephen King story, and likely explore another story that sees protagonists learn the hard lesson that sometimes dead is better. Not a lot has been made officially known about the various characters who will be appearing in the film, but here’s a rundown of what we know so far.
Jackson White
Jackson White, best known for his role on the Kathryn Hahn series Mrs. Fletcher, was the first actor to become attached to the Pet Sematary follow-up – having signed on in June 2021 – and it was in learning the news that the prequel aspect of the project was seemingly confirmed. White, who is in his mid-20s, will be playing the role of Jud Crandall in the new movie, taking over the role that was played by septuagenarian John Lithgow in the 2019 original. Unless the story changes the rules of the Micmac Burial Ground (famous for bringing the dead back to life), it seems fair to assume that the plot will be set about a half-century before the narrative with which we are all familiar.
Forrest Goodluck
It was in 2015’s The Revenant starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio that Forrest Goodluck’s career first really launched, and while he has worked on some notable projects since then – including the Russo brothers’ crime thriller Cherry and the CW series The Republic Of Sarah Soon, however, he will be a part of his first Stephen King adaptation. Much like most of the rest of the actors to be mentioned in this feature, it is unclear at present who Goodluck will be playing in the new Pet Sematary movie.
Jack Mulhern
Back in the spring, Stephen King was publicly following the drama in the HBO series The Mare Of Easttown, Tweeting about his thoughts on the series and predictions about the ending, and soon one of the stars of that show will be in one of the newest King-related feature films. Jack Mulhern played the unlikable Dylan Hinchey on the hit mystery series, and will follow up his time working with Kate Winslet by being a part of the ensemble in Paramount+’s Pet Sematary follow-up. Again, it’s unclear what role he will be playing in the original story.
Natalie Alyn Lind
In the last six years, Natalie Alyn Lind’s career has pretty much exclusively been on various television shows. She had her breakout in 2013 playing Dana Caldwell on ABC’s The Goldbergs, and has since paired one-off appearances on Chicago Fire, iZombie, and Daybreak with recurring roles on series including Gotham, The Gifted, Tell Me A Story, and Big Sky. The second season of Big Sky will be airing in the fall, but after that you’ll be able to see Lind as part of the cast of the new Pet Sematary movie – changing things up from her primary medium and appearing in her first feature since 2014.
Isabella Star LeBlanc
You’ll notice that Lindey Beer’s Pet Sematary follow-up has been adding a number of young stars who have a fair amount of experience – but Isabella Star LaBlanc is a bit of a special case in the ensemble. While her co-stars have a few credits to their names already, LaBlanc, who boarded the project in July 2021, is a fresh face who will be making her first film as she makes the horror prequel. Given the high profile nature of the movie (it will almost surely have all of the eyeballs of Stephen King fans everywhere when it becomes available), it’s definitely an opportunity for a young actor to make a big impression, so we wish her the best of luck with the role – whatever it may be.
Pam Grier
Of the actors in the Pet Sematary prequel cast thus far, Pam Grier is unquestionably the biggest star – bringing to the production all of the clout that comes with being the star of Coffy, Foxy Brown, and Jackie Brown. Grier’s most recent feature film role was opposite Diane Keaton in the 2019 comedy Poms, but she has been keeping busy on the small screen. In addition to appearing in two episodes of the hit NBC series This Is Us, she also played a recurring role on the Dax Shepard/Lake Bell sitcom Bless This Mess on ABC. The actress’ casting was announced by Variety in July 2021, though the trade report doesn’t include any details about the role she will be playing.
Henry Thomas
While Henry Thomas will forever be remembered for his spectacular turn as the star of Steven Spielberg's E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, he has also spent the last couple decades building a nice legacy in Stephen King adaptations. He stars in an episode of the anthology series Nightmares & Dreamscapes, has a small role in the TV movie Desperation, and plays Jack Torrance in Doctor Sleep, and now he is set to appear in the upcoming Pet Sematary prequel. And though I don't wish to sound like a broken record, we don't presently know what kind of role he will be playing.
Samantha Mathis
Her casting in the untitled Pet Sematary follow-up first announced by Deadline, Samantha Mathis marks the addition of yet another Stephen King veteran to the project. Like Henry Thomas, she too was featured in an episode of the short-lived Nightmares & Dreamscapes, but she also played female lead Susan Norton in the 2004 TV remake of Salem's Lot, and was in seven episodes of Under The Dome's first season. Who will she play in this new project? Your guess is as good as ours right now.
The untitled Pet Sematary follow-up doesn’t have an official release date set yet, but, as mentioned, it will not be going the theatrical route for distribution, and will instead be launching as a Paramount+ exclusive. Given the fact that it is filming in summer 2021, it seems extremely likely that we will see the film released in 2022 – quite possibly at the start of the year (2019’s Pet Sematary notably hit cinemas in April 2019). The movie will mark the directorial debut of Lindsey Beer, who is best known for having written and produced the Netflix film Sierra Burgess Is A Loser.
We’ll continue to update this feature as more stars come aboard, and hopefully those updates will also shed more light on who everybody in the ensemble will be playing. For now, you can take a look at all of the other Stephen King adaptations that are presently on the horizon by checking out our Upcoming Stephen King Movies and TV guide.
