The Munsters Movie Reveals First Look At Igor, Played By Doctor Who And Hobbit Actor Sylvester McCoy
Rob Zombie's Instagram page has become the center for all of the breaking news regarding his film adaptation of "The Munsters," and today he gave us a first look at Igor, described as "the faithful servant of the family." Not to be confused with Grandpa's pet bat Igor of the same name, or the Cousin Igor featured in the film "The Munsters' Revenge," Igor looks to be a new character ... unless Zombie combines the lore and both Cousin Igor and Igor that bat end up being one in the same. The Cousin Igor character was originally played by Howard Morris, who most know as Ernest T. Bass from "The Andy Griffith Show." In Rob Zombie's film, Igor is being played by Scottish actor and comedian, Sylvester McCoy, known by most as Radagast from "The Hobbit" or as the seventh incarnation of the Doctor — the final Doctor in the original run of "Doctor Who."
McCoy joins the already announced cast of Jeff Daniel Phillips as Herman Munster, Sheri Moon Zombie as Lily Munster, and Daniel Roebuck as Grandpa Munster. (Yes, Grandpa should technically be "Grandpa Dracula" as he's Lily's dad, but IMDb is listing him as Grandpa Munster so don't @ me.) McCoy is the newest character possibly based on someone already existing in "The Munsters" universe, following the announcement of Richard Brake as the new character, mad scientist Dr. Henry Augustus. The Munster kids, Eddie and Marilyn, have yet to be announced, but if Zombie keeps it up, we'll hopefully know by the end of the year.
The Three Faces of Igor
The announcement of Igor as a character is interesting, because there's still no way of knowing how Zombie is incorporating him into this world. The original TV run of "The Munsters" only showed Grandpa's pet bat Igor in bat form and flying around the castle and laboratory, with Grandpa in bat form frequently being mistaken for his beloved pet. In "The Munsters' Revenge," Cousin Igor is believed to be the assistant to Dr. Frankenstein when Herman Munster was made (which follows typical "Frankenstein" pop culture representation) and later became the caretaker of Castle Dracula for Grandpa, defending it against villagers. In the film, Igor is killed by an arrow but revived by Grandpa who brings him back as a young man.
To add to the confusion, there's also another Igor, one of the twin children of Cousin Wolfgang of the animated special, "The Mini-Munsters." In it, Igor is a Frankenstein's monster type who starts a band called The Mini-Munsters with his sister Lucretia and a now teenaged Eddie Munster. With three totally different characters and storylines in "The Munsters" canon, Zombie has plenty of directions to take the character. Based on the preview image, it's looking like Igor will follow a similar trajectory as the character in "The Munsters' Revenge," but then again, Rob Zombie is a bit of a wild card and this could end up being a completely different character altogether.