Another Crain family favorite is joining The Haunting of Bly Manor.
Mike Flanagan, the creator of the Netflix anthology series, announced on Wednesday that another member of The Haunting of Hill House's cast will join the roster for Season 2. Henry Thomas, who portrayed the younger version of Hugh Crain, who lived in the title house during the family's deadly brush with the paranormal (and/or psychosis), is set to return.
I'm beyond thrilled to announce that the inestimable, irreplaceable, invaluable Henry Thomas has joined the cast of THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) August 28, 2019
Thomas is the third Hill House alum to join the cast so far, following Victoria Pedretti's (Nell Crain) announcement as the Governess and Oliver Jackson-Cohen's (Luke Crain) casting as Peter. Hill House's Carla Gugino has also hinted that she may come back for Season 2.
Everything We Know About The Haunting of Bly Manor So Far
Bly Manor will be based upon Henry James' classic novella The Turn of the Screw, and Flanagan has boasted that the new season will be "much scarier" than the first. Flanagan told Birth.Movies.Death, "For Henry James fans, it's going to be pretty wild, and for people who aren't familiar with his work, it's going to be unbelievably scary."
The Haunting of Bly Manor is expected to premiere on Netflix in 2020. The Haunting of Hill House is available to stream now.
Henry Thomas, The Haunting of Hill House
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The Haunting of Hill House series creator Mike Flanagan announced on Twitter today that Henry Thomas is set to return for the second season of the anthology horror series, which…
THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE Star Henry Thomas Joins THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR — GeekTyrant
THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE Star Henry Thomas Joins THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR — GeekTyrant
New show The Haunting of Hill House is now available to binge now on Netflix and while the cast might tell you it's a "family drama" at heart, it'll absolutely scare the pants off of you.
The ten-part horror series – set in two different decades – follows the Crain family as they face some unpleasant goings-on in the titular Hill House and have to deal with the aftermath throughout their lives.
Playing the younger version of the family's father, Hugh Crain, is none other than Henry Thomas – best known for playing Elliott in the 1982 Steven Spielberg classic, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.
Universal
And, in a very pleasing Easter egg, his famous childhood role is referenced in a scene in the opening episode of The Haunting of Hill House.
Young Luke Crain is drawing some definitely not creepy pictures (*coughs*) in his tree house when his older brother Steven pays a visit, and it's here you'll find the knowing nod to the Spielberg hit.
Netflix
If you look closely on the left in the picture, you can see a lunchbox lying on the floor. And if you look even closer, you can see it's an E.T. lunchbox!
Below is the actual lunchbox in question from 1982.
WorthPoint
[Image via WorthPoint]
Digital Spy caught up with Henry Thomas at the show's launch earlier this month and asked about the reference to his younger years. Laughing, he responded: "That's Mike Flanagan!"
Flanagan is the showrunner on The Haunting of Hill House and has worked with Thomas previously on horror flicks Gerald's Game and Ouija: Origin of Evil, the former featuring numerous Easter eggs planted by the writer.
The E.T. actor continued: "Because of the flashback timeline, it sort of dovetailed in nicely. It's always fun to get a little gag in there in some places. I'm happy that you appreciate that!"
Steve DietlNetflix
Game Of Thrones star Michiel Huisman (pictured above, left) plays Thomas's son in The Haunting of Hill House and commented on the Easter egg: "I missed that one! Funny, that sounds very much like something Mike Flanagan would do."
Although the flashbacks are actually set in 1992, there's a lot of '80s elements still kicking around Hill House – like a Paula Abdul video and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bedspread.
Digital Spy spoke to Huisman about the current wave of '80s nostalgia as witnessed in Stranger Things: "I didn't really see it back then, but now I like it," he told us. "If you look back, it was a pretty spectacular era. There was a lot going on and visually… it was different."
The Haunting of Hill House is available now on Netflix.
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