Here's Your First Look At Cassandra Peterson, AKA Elvira, In Rob Zombie's Munsters

Rob Zombie has been a fan of "The Munsters" ever since he was a small boy. Zombie has admitted in interviews that television always fascinated him, and once told a story about how he would rise from his bed before dawn and watch whatever was being broadcast at that time, usually industrial films and agricultural reports. "The Munsters" debuted the year before Zombie was born, and, thanks to the gods of syndication, was heavily featured in reruns throughout his youth. When Zombie broke out as a musician with his band White Zombie in 1985, he tapped heavily into iconography from his favorite horror movies (largely James Whale's 1931 film "Frankenstein") and TV shows (yes, "The Munsters").

"The Munsters" (1964 – 1966) was a sitcom about the titular family who lived a pretty typical life, apart from the fact that they were all monsters. The patriarch, Herman (Fred Gwynn), was a Frankenstein monster. Matriarch Lily (Yvonne De Carlo) was a vampire, as was Grandpa (Al Lewis). Their son, Eddie (Butch Patrick), was a wolf boy, and their niece, Marilyn (Beverly Owen, Pat Priest), was, curiously, not a monster at all. The white sheep of the family, if you will. "The Munsters" was considered direct competition for another macabre sitcom running at the same time, "The Addams Family." In Zombie's words, The Munsters were regular people who looked like monsters. The Addams family were monsters who looked like regular people. Zombie always preferred the former. 

Zombie's feature film version of "The Munsters" is, as of this writing, currently in production, and casting has been announced. Herman will be played by Jeff Daniel Phillips, Lily will be played by Sheri Moon Zombie, Zombie's wife and frequent film star, and Daniel Roebuck will play Grandpa. 

Also in the cast will be none other than horror legend Cassandra Peterson, better known to the world as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Zombie shared a picture of Peterson in costume on his Instagram account. 

Rob Zombie, in a caption for the above photo, declared that Peterson would be playing a character named Barbara Carr, the #1 real estate agent in all of Mockingbird Heights. The Munsters famously live in a haunted mansion on 1313 Mockingbird Lane, and surely a macabre, winking real estate agent would know that a family of monsters was living there, given that she would have had to sell the house to someone. Incidentally, a monstrous person moving into a haunted mansion in a town full of normies was also a major plot point in the 1988 feature film "Elvira: Mistress of the Dark."

Elvira is herself a horror legend. In 1981, Peterson conceived of the character/persona for "Elvira's Movie Macabre," a horror-host B-movie presentation program that ran on local Los Angeles stated KHJ-TV. Elvira took off in popularity largely because of Peterson's wit, fun, ditzy personality, and — by design — her revealing outfits. Elvira soon became ubiquitous in the horror fandom community, putting out VHS tapes, merchandise, and several TV revivals over the years, including a sitcom in the '90s, and a recent 40th anniversary special on Shudder. 

With the release of her 2021 memoir "Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark," Peterson caused a bit of a stir by coming out, and announcing that she had been living with her girlfriend for the past 19 years. I recommend the book. Peterson, 70, is leading a large and amazing life.

Rob Zombie's "The Munsters" is scheduled for release in theaters and on Peacock later in 2022. Zombie has confirmed that the film will be rated PG.