Cue that iconic, spine-tingling theme music.
Fans of “The Twilight Zone” are counting down the days until “Us” director Jordan Peele‘s buzzy reboot premieres next Monday. Artist Jordan Monsell, on the other hand, is counting every single monster, mad scientist and martian from the classic Rod Serling series — all 156 of them.
California-based Monsell created a drawing, called “Fifth Dimension,” in the style of an “Eye Spy” book: A veritable smorgasbord of the supernatural featuring references from all of the original episodes (plus a few Easter eggs) of the beloved science fiction series.
“I started by going back and watching every episode that I hadn’t seen,” says Monsell, who used Netflix, DVD box-sets and even his own home VHS recordings to rewatch all 156 episodes. “I had no idea there were so many episodes!”
The illustrator, who last year produced a poster including over 170 references from the works of Stephen King, admits the “Twilight Zone” project was daunting nonetheless.
“I would take several photos while watching each episode, and then create pencil sketches before scanning them into the computer and arranging the characters and objects,” Monsell tells The Post. “The poster took three months, and when I thought I was almost done, I would discover a few episodes I hadn’t included yet.”
A primo primer for Peele’s reboot, “Fifth Dimension” will be on display at WonderCon in Anaheim, CA. this weekend, and also for sale on Monsell’s Etsy page.
Meanwhile, at the show’s red carpet premiere this week in Hollywood, executive producer Peele, who is also currently enjoying a huge success with the blockbuster release of his new horror flick “Us,” has been talking to reporters about how he re-made “The Twilight Zone” for a 21st century audience.
“We have to kind of do justice to the rules of the ‘The Twilight Zone’ and the aesthetic that [Rod] Serling and his team set-up, but then we get to tell the stories that are relevant to 2019, and just update it,” Peele tells KCAL Los Angeles on the red carpet. “You get a concept for [an episode]… and start to ask, ‘What’s underneath this?’ ”
CBS also released two new trailers giving sneak peak at the double-feature debut of the new series, based on classic episodes from the original. “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet,” originally starring William Shatner on the freaky flight, features Adam Scott (“Parks & Recreation”), followed by Kumail Nanjiani and Tracy Morgan star in “The Comedian.” Both new trailers, along with an “extended” season preview, have already racked up more than 13 million views on YouTube.
“The Twilight Zone” airs April 1st on CBS All Access.
