BurkeAndHare

John Landis, that swarthy, bearded fellow known for such classics as An American Werewolf In London and The Blues Brothers, is set to direct a film based on the misadventures of the notorious 19th century grave-robbers and murderers William Burke and William Hare, who sold the bodies for dissection to the Edinburgh Medical College. Until today it was known that genre favorite Simon Pegg would be playing Burke, while the role of Hare would be going to David "Dr. Who" Tennant.

Thanks to the super sleuthing of Dread Central, we have learned that all of this has changed, as a tweet by Mr. Pegg has revealed, albeit rather cryptically, that Tennant has stepped down and has been replaced:

"David Tennant had to drop out of B&H but by sheer glorious serendipity a legend of Middle Earth and Skull Island has come aboard. Welcome AS"

AS" is none other than Andy Serkis, the man famous for "playing" Gollum in the Lord of the Rings franchise and David in the under-appreciated dark comedy thriller The Cottage. Now the pun in the article title makes sense.

Burke and Hare is written by Piers Ashworth and Nick Moorcroft, and also stars John Cleese (rumored), Bill Bailey, and Pollyanna McIntosh.

It's time for Horror Bites -- your (semi) daily round-up of blood, guts, and torturous mayhem from around the web:

After meeting and falling for each other on True Blood, Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer are taking their horror romance to the big screen with a thriller called Open House, to be directed by her brothers Andrew Paquin. [via Bloody Disgusting]

Moviehole reports that Ian Somerhalder is adding to his horror repertoire by supplementing his Vampire Diaries stint with a gothic fairytale called Cradlewood, which has him heir to a fortune that's got creepy history.

John Landis' Burke and Hare has gotten one sweet casting announcement. Arrow in the Head reports that David Tennant -- aka the recently replaced Doctor Who -- has joined Simon Pegg in the sadistic blood fest.

How will slasher fare play on MTV? You can get a hint over at ShockTilYouDrop, where they've thrown up a clip of MTV's My Super Psycho Sweet 16.

It's not yet May, but it is time for an official website for Darren Bousman's Mother's Day, as Dread Central reports.

And finally, if you need Milla Jovovich horror to get you through the week, head to Bloody Disgusting for a few TV spots for The Fourth Kind.

By Monika Bartyzel

Forget the potential film about Mad Magazine man William M. Gaines. It looks like John Landis is heading back to the thrills and chills. Dread Central reports that the man behind Thriller and An American Werewolf in London is gearing up to direct Burke and Hare, and that zombie butt-kicker Simon Pegg will star.

Unlike many of the usual horror films, this true story takes murder into the money-making realm. Back in the 1820s, two men in Edinburgh, Scotland -- William Burke and William Hare -- had schemed up a new business venture. Cadavers were in high demand, so they got in the business of selling dead bodies to anatomist Dr. Robert Knox. At first, it was just a stolen body, but soon they began murdering to bring in the cash (£7 to £15). Tenants, prostitutes, friends, relatives, and even an old woman and deaf boy. But they grabbed one too many well-known victim, and were ultimately caught.

Based on the death and life masks found earlier this year, I'll guess that Pegg will play Hare, and that this classic story is going to get a comedic twist. Then again, anything is possible. Laughter, chills, seriousness, silliness -- who cares? Landis is finally getting back to horror!