Syfy, Kevin Bacon feel Tremors

Kevin Bacon (left) in 1990’s Tremors

US cablenet Syfy has ordered a pilot for a TV follow-up to 1990 feature film Tremors, which is being fronted by the movie’s star Kevin Bacon.

The show is being produced by Universal Cable Productions and ITV-backed US prodco Blumhouse Television and is being written by Andrew Miller, who is attached as showrunner.

The pilot picks up 25 years after the movie and will see Bacon again playing Valentine McKee, an ageing alcoholic who is tasked with stopping deadly giant worms from destroying a town.

The show, which has been in development with UCP since 2015, is being exec produced by Bacon, Miller, David Schiff and Jessica Rhoades. Syfy previously rebooted the movie in 2003 as Tremors: The Series, but it only lasted for one season and did not feature Bacon.

“This is the only character I’ve played that I’ve ever thought about revisiting. I just got to thinking, ‘Where would this guy end up after 25 years?’” Bacon said.

“Andrew Miller has a fantastic take on it and we hope to create a show that will be fun and scary for fans of the movie and folks that have yet to discover it.”

The 1990 movie was directed by Ron Underwood and only claimed around US$16m in box office receipts, but has since become a cult hit.