Burton working on Frankenweenie

Seth Grahame-Smith and Tim Burton have been frequently working together as of late. The writer penned the scripts for Tim Burton’s upcoming Dark Shadows, while Burton produced Grahame-Smith’s film-based-on-his-novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. With the duo also working together on a planned second installment of Beetlejuice, it’s safe to say the two will have a great working history for time to come. Now, Grahame-Smith has revealed that he’s working with Burton on another project, which will see the director returning to stop-motion animation once again.

Grahame-Smith told THR that he’s planning a stop-motion film called Night of the Living, which will be a vehicle for Burton to direct. ”Night of the Living is an idea I have had around for years that I’m doing with Tim Burton. When we were shooting ‘Dark Shadows’ last year I worked up the nerve to tell Tim about it because I always thought it would make a good movie. When I saw what he had done with ‘Frankenweenie’ and ‘Corpse Bride’, it always struck me as a great idea for that form. I’m writing it at Warner’s Bros. for him (as a stop-motion monster movie).”

Warner Brothers is the same studio for which the writer and director combined their efforts on Dark Shadows, and where Burton’s Corpse Bride also was helmed. After the script is complete on Night of the Living, Grahame-Smith plans on adapting his latest novel Unholy Night into a film as well, though it’s unclear just where the film will be headed. The novel deals with a supernatural twist, much like Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, involving the three wise men from the Nativity story.

Burton’s second stop-motion feature Frankenweenie is set to be released this October by Walt Disney Pictures, and has been receiving a decent amount of buzz already. It certainly seems like if it’s a hit, Burton would continue forward with the style, unlike the seven year gap after Corpse Bride.

Dark Shadows hits theaters on May 11th.