Rob Zombie's The Munsters Will Feature Elvira As You've Never Seen Her Before
Musician and director Rob Zombie's big screen interpretation of the 1960s hit sitcom "The Munsters" will be roaring its way onto the big screens worldwide (and NBC's Peacock streaming service) sometime in 2022. While horror fans wait for more news about the movie's plot, Zombie has been treating his audience to behind-the-scenes photos and casting news.
By now, readers likely already know that Sheri Moon Zombie, the director's wife and frequent muse, will be playing Lily Munster. Dan Roebuck will be playing her vampiric pop, Grandpa Munster, and Jeff Daniel Phillips will appear as Lily's lovable husband Herman. There's no word who will play Eddie (Lily and Herman's werewolf son), or Marilyn, the Munster's traditionally beautiful — but by their monstrous standards — frightfully plain niece.
However, Zombie has announced on Instagram who will be playing some major supporting roles in the film. Among the actors included in his mosaic are Sylvester McCoy, Jorge Garcia and Catherine Schell. Also included: Cassandra Peterson, best known as cheeky horror hostess Elvira. Per a recent Instagram post from Zombie and comments from the actress, it appears that the character she'll be playing in "The Munsters" will be a whole new ballgame for the actress.
Cassandra Peterson will portray a 'straight' 'normal' woman
Per an interview with Variety, the woman behind the ever-confident Elvira will take on the very different role of Barbara Carr, a real estate agent and one of the many "normal" folks who orbit the Munster family's orbit.
After describing the character as "so so different from what I normally do," Peterson told the magazine, "I'm playing a super straight character." She added, "Barbara is a normal woman, this real estate agent. It was exciting and terrifying, but it was really cool."
She had further praise for the experience, the set design, and Sheri Moon-Zombie. She said of the actress, "I see on social media people asking, 'Why is Rob always casting her?' Because she's freaking good."
However, this won't be Peterson's first time playing a character who isn't her signature Elvira persona. Via IMDb, she appeared in numerous guest-starring roles and minor parts throughout the 1970s, both in TV and in film, before her Elvira character became a pop culture phenomenon in the mid-1980s. Post-Elvira, she appeared in "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" as Biker Mama, and she was also Sorais in "Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold."