Rob Zombie confirms his The Munsters movie reboot has cast original show star Pat Priest after rumors swirled of the actress joining the film. Allan Burns and Chris Hayward's '60s sitcom revolved around the friendly monster family of Herman, also known as Frankenstein's monster, his vampiric wife Lily, Al Lewis as her father Grandpa, an older Count Dracula, their normal teenage niece Marilyn and their werewolf son Eddie. Despite receiving higher ratings than the similarly plotted The Addams Family and rave reviews from critics, The Munsters would only run on CBS for two seasons as ratings suffered due to competition with Adam West's Batman series.
Multiple attempts to reboot The Munsters have been made over the years, including the dramatic TV show Mockingbird Lane from Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller and a movie from the Wayans family, though Rob Zombie would finally get his hands on the property in early 2021. The horror genre filmmaker has assembled a cast of familiar faces from his filmography, including wife Sheri Moon Zombie as Lily, Jeff Daniel Phillips as Herman, Daniel Roebuck as Grandpa, Richard Brake and Cassandra "Elvira" Peterson. Despite filming on The Munsters nearing its end, Zombie has a few more surprises in store for fans of the original series.
As production continues on the film, Rob Zombie took to Instagram to address rumors of Pat Priest joining his The Munsters reboot. The filmmaker noted many have been asking "What about Marilyn?" and confirmed the original show star is a part of the movie, stating that "For once the rumors are true." Check out Zombie's announcement below:
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Priest starred in the original Munsters series as family niece Marilyn, having taken over the role from Beverly Owen who left the series after 13 episodes due to personal issues regarding the work and her relationship with future husband, Sesame Street writer/director Jon Stone. Despite having risen to stardom with the hit sitcom, Priest's career was very minimal after it was canceled by CBS, having appeared in a variety of Bewitched, Perry Mason and The Mary Tyler Moore Show episodes. Interestingly, Priest's casting in Zombie's The Munsters movie will mark her first proper acting role in over 30 years after originally retiring in the '80s and making appearances at various fan conventions over the years.
Given Zombie's The Munsters have recast the main family with younger actors, it seems unlikely that Pat Priest will be reprising her role as Marilyn for the new film. That being said, fans of the original Munsters sitcom are sure to find themselves excited at the confirmation at her return alongside fellow original star Butch Patrick, who recently teased a surprise is hidden in the movie. Only time will tell what's to come from Priest and Patrick's returns when The Munsters debuts on Peacock later this year.
Source: Rob Zombie/Instagram