Nothing gets past this era of Hollywood without our beloved entertainment franchises being extended through prequels, sequels, reboots, and remakes, and Stephen King’s Pet Sematary franchise is not any different.
After its 2019 remake, Pet Sematary: Bloodline came to fruition to expand the universe in more detail, as told by the movie producer, Lorenzo di Bonaventura. But the 2019 remake meant there was an original Pet Sematary movie, right?
So then, what does this mean for Pet Sematary: Bloodlines? Is it a remake, a sequel, or a prequel? Here’s all you need to know.
When Does Pet Sematary: Bloodlines Take Place?
There were the original duo films: the first Pet Sematary movie in 1989 and its sequel, Pet Sematary Two in 1992. Based on the original Horror novel that Stephen King wrote in 1983, they were the closest adaptation that kept the source material's story intact.
Unlike the original duo, the 2019 Pet Sematary film was a remake. Instead of having Louis (Jason Clarke) and Rachel Creed's (Amy Seimetz) youngest child Gage dying in the film, it's his older sister Ellie (Jete Lawrence).
There's no real connection between the original franchise vs. the remake, and you can definitely watch the films in whichever order you'd prefer, but Pet Sematary: Bloodlines is essentially a prequel to the events of the 2019 remake, which the producer explained way back before the prequel came to fruition.
During the premiere at SXSW, 2019 Pet Sematary's producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura teased with Slashfilm their plans for a Pet Sematary prequel (which we now know as Pet Sematary: Bloodlines):
“The interesting thing is to stay with the source material and go and do a prequel because there is so much information in the source material prior to it. Do we get to meet young Jud? There’s a lot of opportunity I think that we don’t have to make up out of whole cloth.
Bonaventura added what exact element they wanted to emphasize in this prequel, considering they did change the story in the initial remake. And this time, we'll get to see the perspective of a younger Jud telling the story.
[It is] less about establishing what it is they’re running [from] and more [about] establishing what is the thing that’s freaking them out. Again, there’s so much you’ve got to play out with the central four characters, especially the three of them really, but all four of them that, too often, when we looked at alternatives, we kept feeling like we’re kind of getting away from the point of the story, so it drove us back.”
Is Pet Sematary Connected To IT?
One thing you might know about Stephen King is whether or not you’re a fan of Horror, his works have built a world of terrifying stories through his novels and short stories.
Considering that franchises such as IT and Pet Sematary were created under the same author, it’s hard to miss their connection in King’s own ‘multiverse.’
Much like how the Marvel Cinematic Universe came to be, King has his own cinematic universe cut out for him. So, are the events or the world of Pet Sematary connected to the likes of IT’s Town of Derry and Pennywise’s lore?
The short answer is, in a way, they subtly are. See, the setting of IT and Pet Sematary are both on the haunted land of Ludlow, ME, with Derry about 20 hours away from Pet Sematary’s main place.
There were other references to King’s previous works in Pet Sematary, as well, including Cujo (dogs that had rabies and killed people in Maine) and even The Shining.
But as for if the two universes are connected by a solid timeline, this remains to be seen.
For now, you can watch the entire Pet Sematary franchise before seeing Pet Sematary: Bloodlines release on Paramount Plus this October 6th.
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