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David Tennant Joins Simon Pegg in John Landis' Burke and Hare

by Ethan Anderton
October 12, 2009
Source: Bloody-Disgusting

Back in August, the news broke that Simon Pegg would be taking on a lead role in John Landis' forthcoming feature project Burke and Hare, the true story of Irish immigrants William Burke and William Hare, who murdered and sold the corpses of their 17 victims to the Edinburgh Medical College for dissection. Though there was some uncertainty as to whether Pegg was locked into the picture, it has since been confirmed that Pegg will indeed taking on the role of Burke, and now Bloody Disgusting reports that David Tennant (of BBC's "Doctor Who") will be filling in as Hare. Sounds like the perfect return to the big screen for Landis.

The announcement was made at the Spooky Empire convention in Orlando, Florida by Landis himself, but no other groundbreaking details were offered. Though the story isn't exactly in line with the comedic fare we're used to seeing from Landis (Blues Brothers, Animal House), I'm just anxious to see him return to directing features again. Landis had great recent success with directing the Emmy winning stand-up comedy doc Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project, but the last narrative feature he directed was the box office bomb of a sequel Blues Brothers 2000 (and that was over 10 years ago). That's just no way to leave a career.

At first I was skeptical of Landis taking on this project simply because the material is so grim (after all, it's basically about two guys who murder just to make some extra money), but then I remembered that not only did Landis direct the highly regarded An American Werewolf in London, but he also directed what is considered to be the greatest music video of all time, Michael Jackson's Thriller. And I'm sure it won't be all grotesque murder and corpses, because while the scenario is rather dark, I'm sure there's plenty of room for some signature dry British humor. As a big fan of Pegg and someone who would really love to see more of Tennant outside of British television, this is definitely a project I'll be keeping my eye on. How about you?

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http://jertown.tumblr.com Jertown

I'd be excited to see Tennant in just about anything. That said, I'd love to hear more about this project, especially details on the mood they're going for. With Simon Pegg and David Tennant in the lead roles I'm guessing they will be leaning toward the macabre but with sharp wit and dry humor. Keeping an eye on this one!
devandev

Can't say I'm overly familiar with Pegg. I've seen him in maybe two or three things (and he was good), but I've seen Tennant in a VERY wide variety of roles. Seriously, he can do just about anything. He can also be warmly funny without in any way dumbing down his material, which could be a real asset in such a dark story. This film won't be a big Hollywood blockbuster, but I daresay it'll be all the better for that.
kaoz1631

Im pretty excited about this. Huge Doctor Who fan and I was concerned that Tennant wouldn't be seen in anything big since he is leaving Doctor Who at the end of the year. He's an awesome actor. One of the best incarnations of "The Doctor" next to Tom Baker.
klaus_komix

I'm in. Love Pegg and Tennant with Landis directing. Should be good fun.
http://www.superliminal.wordpress.com Nathalie

Love Simon. Love David. This combo is gold.
Nicola

Can't wait sounds like a great combination, here's hoping for lots of dark humour and not so much crap hollywood violence
Atoj

Holy crap! Pegg and Tennant together is a recipe for beyond awesome.