Rob Zombie has always been good at casting some of his horror film favorites in roles, and now we know his upcoming The Munsters movie will includes some screen time for Cassandra Peterson, better known to horror fans as the famous horror hostess Elvira Mistress of the Dark.
While Peterson often drew the eye as the gothly-clothed “Elvira,” you might not immediately recognize her in the casting photo that Zombie provided via his social media.
“ATTENTION CASTING NEWS! Straight from the set of THE MUNSTERS is your first look at Barbara Carr, the #1 real estate agent in all of Mockingbird Heights. Barbara is played by none other the CASSANDRA PETERSON @therealelvira . Yes, the Mistress of the Dark has joined the cast of THE MUNSTERS,” announced the director.
As can be seen in the photo below, gone is the gothy, spikey-haired Elvira get-up in favor a more demure, reddish, ’60s-era matching top and skirt. But this isn’t the first time Peterson has disappeared into a role, with film credits that include Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (featured in one of Zombie’s other Instagram slides), Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie, Stroker Ace and more. Earlier this year, she turned up as her Elvira character for an episode of ABC’s The Goldbergs as well.
Zombie film staples Jeff Daniel Phillips and Sheri Moon Zombie have been cast as Herman and Lily Munster, while Daniel Roebuck will portray Grandpa Munster. The film also has Richard Brake as Dr. Henry August Wolfgang and Lost’s Jorge Garcia as his hunchback assistant Floop.
Earlier this week, Zombie also revealed that his version of The Munsters has received a PG rating from the Motion Picture Association.
Zombie was announced as the director for The Munsters film in June 2021. In recent months, he’s recreated the original house and even built a full neighborhood set while filming. Zombie has also been steadily revealing some of the casting, costumes and makeup effects on social media in the build up to what will eventually be the release of the film.
The rocker made his directorial debut with House of 1000 Corpses in 2003. Since then, he has worked on numerous other horror films, like The Devil’s Rejects, The Lords of Salem, 3 From Hell, and a 2007 Halloween remake.