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Remember The Legend of Sleepy Hollow? The short story by Washington Irving tells the tale of Ichabod Crane, a lean, lanky, superstitious schoolmaster who is battling it out with boisterous Brom Bones for the hand of the lovely Katrina Van Tassel. After leaving a party at the Van Tassel’s home one Autumn evening, Ichabod is pursed by the Headless Horseman, and mysteriously disappears, leaving Katrina to marry his rival.

 

Now for something completely different: The creators of the hit series “Fringe” are taking the tale of Sleepy Hollow and giving it a modern-day twist. In Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman’s television pilot version of “Sleepy Hollow”, Ichabod Crane lives in a contemporary Sleepy Hollow, where he and a feisty female sheriff not only solve the strange and supernatural occurrences around town, but they also unravel how each mystery is connected to the greater battle of Good vs. Evil. The pilot has already garnered attention from FOX, who has given a put-pilot commitment on the series, and Underworld and Total Recall director, Len Wiseman, has been set to film it.

 

Orci and Kurtzman are easily two of the most popular -- and busy -- writers working in Hollywood today. In addition to “Fringe”, the pair wrote the reboot for “Hawaii Five-0” as well as J.J. Abrams's Star Trek reboot. So, clearly, reimaginings are right up their alley. Considering the success of modern-day twists on fairy tales with other shows such as “Once Upon a Time” and “Grimm”, there is no doubt that a reboot of Sleepy Hollow would appeal to audiences. And the fact that this “Sleepy Hollow” is completely different from the 1999 Tim Burton film and the original tale, and that it is not set in the 1800s, shows promise -- especially considering that re-imagined period pieces such as The Raven have not fared so well at the box office.

 

In the meantime, it is not yet clear when the series will air, nor who will star in it. However, FOX will face some competition, as yet another alternate version of Sleepy Hollow is being pitched to The CW. Created by the writers and producers of the series, “Missing”, this version of “Sleepy Hollow” will see Ichabod Crane as a modern-day FBI agent who is called to Sleepy Hollow to investigate a beheading. The battling pilots are similar to the two different pilots of “Beauty and the Beast” from The CW and ABC this past pilot season, but only The CW’s made it to series. May the best network win!

 

Are you excited for a modern-day retelling of the tale of Sleepy Hollow? Let us know in the comments below!

 

 

- Sarah Osman, YH Staff