We are coming to the release of The Munsters, an all-new film that reimagines the classic television monster family. From writer-director Rob Zombie, the film’s cast includes: Jeff Daniel Phillips playing a new version of Herman Munster alongside Sheri Moon Zombie as Lily. Dan Roebuck also stars as Grandpa, aka The Count, with the film focusing on how Herman and Lily originally met.
In a new interview with Geek Vibes Nation to promote the film, Phillips shared what it was like to play the part of Herman. He commented on how Herman got the brains of a stand-up comedian when he was created, and Phillips drew on his own history of clowning to play the part. At the same time, there was a lot of inspiration from Herman’s original version from the TV show.
“It’s, you know, you approach it like any character. You try to take some stuff out of the show. I sure, growing up I was a genius, a class clown, so I could draw on that. But yeah, we were based on the iconic TV show, so we tried to make it ourselves, create our own version of the iconic character, I’m sure there’s a lot of me in that.”
Jeff Daniel Phillips plays a younger Herman
A key difference between this new version of Herman Munster and the original played by Fred Gwynne is that Phillips plays a younger version of the character. This is because the movie is an origin story that shows how Lily and Herman fall in love, while their relationship was long established in the original TV show. As Phillips explains, his Herman is still trying to figure out who he is after being recently made in a lab.
“He gets this feeling like he’s trying to figure out who he is, and these things just come into his brain. And he can’t, you know, he’s always amazed because he was just made and he’s trying to figure it all out, unlike TV Herman which is fantastic Fred Gwynne is the master But he was more established He was married He had a job He had a kid This Herman is trying to find out He is trying to find his voice Things come to him. He knows jokes, he’s in this big muscular body he’s never had before.”
The Munsters will premiere on Netflix on September 27, 2022. It will also be available for purchase on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital that day. You can watch a full trailer along with the film’s synopsis below.
From writer/director Rob Zombie comes the strangest love story ever told. Lily is just your typical 150 year old vampire in love looking for the man from her nightmares. . . until she sees Herman, a six-foot green experiment with a heart of gold. It’s love at first shock when these two ghosts grit their teeth in this frenzied Transylvanian romance. Unfortunately, things don’t go smoothly in the graveyard, as Lily’s father The Count has other plans for his beloved daughter’s future, and her bumbling beauty, Herman, is not involved. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll howl at the moon as The Munsters make their way to Mockingbird Lane!