Tim Burton To Bring Us New Addams Family Film In 3D Stop Motion Animation (UPDATED)

Update: MTV have received a statement from Burton's representation that says "There is no truth to the story. Tim has not lined up any of his upcoming projects". I'm pretty sure this official line in no way undermines the validity of Deadline's reporting – they won't have just made this up. We're obviously just a long, long way off from anything coming to fruition.

It was a popular observation that Barry Sonnenfeld's two big-screen Addams Family films were styled and shot somewhat similarly to the movies of Tim Burton. Some even criticised Sonnenfeld quite caustically for this, which was perhaps a little unfair as this look was pretty true to the basic source material, Charles Addams' cartoon strips from The New Yorker - illustrations that had clearly had some impact on Burton's aesthetic in the first place.

Adding another noodle to that spaghetti plate of inspiration and imitation, news comes today that Tim Burton is to make his own Addams Family film. Like his upcoming Frankenweenie, the Addams project is to be made as a 3D stop-motion project, pretty much roping in all of Burton's interests at once.

This is the director pretty much getting back to basic principles, I think, and returning to something very close to his core passions and influences. Of course, the wave of haters could see it as a caricatured play and "another sign" that he's lapsed into self parody. Me? I'm going with the former reading.

According to Deadline New York, the project is set up at Universal's Illumination Entertainment, and Illumination's Chris Meledandri will be joined in producing the film by Kevin Miserocchi of the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation. So far, however, a writer is yet to be hired. Place your bets now: John August? Pamela Pettler? Or how about Caroline Thomspon and Larry Wilson, screenwriters who have not only worked on Burton pictures before but also actually wrote the first Addams Family movie.

Actually, I would imagine Caroline Thompson and Larry Wilson are the two least likely hires in all of Hollywood for this gig. Isn't the inclination with these re-imaginings to create a little bit of distance from the last iteration?