I have a rather unexpected announcement to make about a new Cirque Du Freak movie (!!!!) but before I get into that, can I quickly point out that the April issue of my online monthly newsletter just went live, with all the latest Darren Shan news and updates, including info about my first public event in England in six years!! Click here: https://darrenshan.com/news/shanville-monthly

Right -- the Cirque Du Freak reboot. I've hinted for quite a while that something was in the works, but I didn't want to say anything concrete about it until everything had been confirmed, especially since it's going to be rather an... unusual reboot.

You're probably wondering why I've attached a photo of The Count from Sesame Street. It was shared with me recently by a fan of my books called Sharon, who thought it would tickle my funny bone. It certainly did, but it also had a big impact on me for a very different reason, because its timing is eerie -- one might almost say it was DesTiny...

So, yeah -- Sesame Street. I'm assuming most of you are familiar with the TV series which has been running since the end of the 1960s. I used to watch it myself when I was a child, and can still remember large chunks of those shows. It was a huge part of TV schedules for decades, but ran into trouble several years ago, before finding new life on HBO: https://www.hks-siblab.org/uncategorized/why-did-sesame-street-get-cancelled/

While it's enjoyed a big recovery on HBO, the executives felt it was time to do something new with the format. There have been a few movies made in the past, but they haven't exactly set the world alight. So the HBO folk started to wonder if maybe it was time to take the show in a different direction on the big screen, by adapting an existing book and casting its characters in the main roles -- much like the Muppets have done over the years, with the likes of A Christmas Carol and Treasure Island.

Only... they didn't want to go down the "adapt an old classic" route, since that's already been done by Kermit and co. So, instead, they looked for a more modern novel that might work for them... and... well... they found... Cirque Du Freak!!!

I know, I know -- it seems like a bizarre match!! I'll be honest -- I took a lot of convincing. It's going to mean presenting the story in a much lighter way (there will be even more humour than in the previous movie adaptation!), but they're going to keep a bit of the darkness, and as they pointed out to me, in many ways the ethos of Cirque Du Freak lines up very neatly with the ethos of Sesame Street -- since Cirque Du Freak, when you strip all the trimmings away, is ultimately a story about friendship, and doing everything you can to help out a friend in trouble.

The Sesame Street team are still working on the script, but some key decisions have already been made. The Count is going to play the part of Mr Crepsley (which is why the photo struck me to the core). Oscar the Grouch is going to play Mr Tiny (that piece of casting alone would have been enough to convince me to sign on the dotted line!). Cookie Monster is going to play Steve Leopard (hmm... I remain to be convinced on that front!). Bert and Ernie are going to play Alan Morris and Tommy Jones. And the central role... Darren Shan... ME... is going to be played by... Big Bird!!!! (Don't you dare laugh!!! They've promised me he's going to bring big beakfuls of pathos to the part!!)

There will be much more about this in the coming months, but for now I'm going to leave you with its intended release date... which will be this day next year... which is...

APRIL 1st!!!!

"Wait!!" I hear you cry, with dawning realisation. "Does that mean...?????"

Yup -- APRIL FOOL!!!!!!!

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)