Jason Clarke is officially in talks to star in the Pet Sematary remake. Stephen King's works have always been popular to adapt in Hollywood, but thanks to the success of IT recently, his name is red hot and studios are looking to (hopefully) cash in with some modern takes on his classic stories. Paramount is currently cooking up a remake of Pet Sematary and now, it looks like they may have their first big-name star lined up in Clarke.

The deal for Jason Clarke to star in Pet Sematary hasn't yet closed, but he's in talks and, should he wind up locking it down, he'll play the role of Dr. Louis Creed, the main character in the novel. The role was originally played by Dale Midkiff in the 1989 Pet Sematary movie. That adaptation was a relatively modest success, having grossed $57 million at the box office, but it wasn't necessarily loved by critics. A sequel, Pet Sematary 2, was released in 1992.

As for Jason Clarke, he's quietly been a terrific actor in Hollywood for some time now, who occasionally gets stuck in an unfortunate project. Most notably, he starred as an older John Connor in Terminator: Genisys, which underperformed at the box office and was trashed by critics upon arrival. However, he's got a host of impressive credits to his name, having been part of movies like Zero Dark Thirty, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Netflix's Mudbound, which many feel was deserving a Best Picture Oscar nomination this year. Clarke is also no stranger to the horror genre, having starred in Winchester earlier this year alongside Helen Mirren. Clarke can currently be seen as Ted Kennedy in Chappaquiddick, a role that has earned him some praise.

Locking down Jason Clarke would be a good start for the Pet Sematary remake, which will be starting production in the coming months. Paramount has locked down an April 19, 2019, release date for the movie, which means they have a year to get it squared away. With that in mind, we should be hearing more casting announcements and other production information in the very near future. Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer, known best for their horror movie Starry Eyes, have been tapped to direct the remake, which is based on Stephen King's 1983 novel of the same name.

Pet Sematary follows Dr. Louis Creed, who moves his family from the big city to the country. He soon discovers that they have moved near a pet cemetery that just so happens to rest on an ancient burial ground. When his young son is killed, Creed takes the body to the cemetery, where it is resurrected, but in a sinister form. Jeff Buhler, who is also working on the script for The Grudge reboot, wrote the most recent draft of the screenplay for the Pet Sematary remake. We'll be sure to keep you up to date as more details on the project are made available. This news comes to us courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter.