Hostel TV Series In The Works With Paul Giamatti to Star

Back in 2006, writer and director Eli Roth made us all afraid to travel abroad when he released the horror film, Hostel. Arriving in the wake of Saw and the emergence of what some critics dubbed “torture porn”, the movie was a success and went on to spawn two sequels. The franchise has been dormant since 2011’s Hostel: Part III, but now it looks like Hostel is headed to the small screen with Academy Award nominee Paul Giamatti, is onboard to star.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, a Hostel TV series is in the works and Giamatti has already closed his deal to headline the project. The show is being described as a “modern adaptation”, an “elevated thriller” and a “reinvention” of the original horror franchise. Roth, Chris Briggs, and Mike Fleiss are also all returning to make traveling scary again as executive producers, with Roth and Briggs writing the script, while the former will also be directing the project. Giamatti’s character in this new take on the franchise is unknown, but it’s said that he will play a key role in the show. Roth teased the arrival of something Hostel-related on his Instagram page with the caption that reads, “Who else feels like traveling?”

Hostel Proved To Be a Big Hit

Released in 2006, Hostel was written and directed by Roth. The movie followed a group of American tourists that end up in Slovakia where they find themselves falling victim to an underground organization that allows people to pay to torture and kill others. Starring Jay Hernandez and Derek Richardson, the film was a hit with horror fans despite mixed reviews from critics, grossing $82 million globally on a $4.8 million budget.

The success of the film led to Hostel: Part II, also written and directed by Roth. The sequel focused on three American female art students, this time around, who are led to a Slovak village where they meet the same fate as the men from the predecessor. Starring Lauren German, Heather Matarazzo, Bijou Phillips, Roger Bart, and Richard Burgi, the film wasn’t as critically or financially successful as the first installment, grossing just $17 million domestically and $35.6 million on a $10.2 million budget.

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Hostel: Part III arrived in 2011 and was a direct-to-DVD release that was directed by Scott Spiegel and was the only film in the franchise to not have Roth’s involvement. The movie follows four men attending a bachelor party in Las Vegas that proves taking the horror out of Slovakia won’t stop unsuspecting prey from falling victim to the rich elite that wants to pay to torture and kill. The men are lured off the Strip to a private party by two prostitutes and find themselves the subjects of the Elite Hunting Club, who want nothing more than to play a game of torture and pain. The film stars Brian Hallisay, Kip Pardue, John Hensley, Sarah Habel, and Skyler Stone.

Giamatti is coming off of his Academy Award nomination for The Holdovers, and he’s also no stranger to Roth. Back in 2013, the actor revealed to Entertainment Weekly that they first met when the director was in production on the first Hostel film while Giamatti was filming The Illusionist. The actor said, “Eli was shooting Hostel in Prague, and I was shooting The Illusionist and I met him. We talked about me actually killing somebody in that movie, but it never panned out.” It seems that good things come to those who wait, and Giamatti is now getting his Hostel moment after all.