R.L. Stine’s World of Scares Gets Bigger as Tubi Reveals What’s Next at NYCC

For readers who grew up with R.L. Stine, his name brings back a familiar feeling: wanting to know what happens next, even when you’re a little afraid to turn the page.

That curiosity carried into New York Comic Con 2026, where Tubi brought Stine and his collaborators together to discuss bringing his stories to the screen—and announce another adaptation in the works.

UNWRITTEN joined the weekend’s press roundtable with Stine, writer and director Jem Garrard, performer Jimbo, and Tubi Chief Content Officer Adam Lewinson. We also got an early look at R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 on Tubi ahead of its release. The film was an enjoyable watch and gave us a chance to experience the story before hearing from the people behind the growing collection of adaptations.

 

An Early Look at Pumpkinhead 2

Released on Tubi on October 9, R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 follows Sam and Becka as they race to stop a new Pumpkinhead curse from claiming the town of Redhaven.

Inspired by Stine’s The Haunting Hour, the sequel features Cassandra Peterson, famously known as Elvira. Her involvement brings another recognizable horror figure into Stine’s world, connecting two names that have introduced audiences to very different kinds of scares.

For UNWRITTEN, watching the film early on Tubi added context to the NYCC experience. We had seen the finished project before joining the roundtable, where the conversation brought together perspectives from the author, filmmaker, performer, and streaming platform.

Having those voices in the same room offered a closer look at the collaboration behind the adaptations. Stine’s stories are the starting point, but bringing them to the screen involves new creative decisions about characters, performances, and how suspense unfolds.

 

Horror, Humor, and a Conversation With the Creators

On Sunday, October 11, Tubi hosted its “R.L. Stine on Tubi” panel at the Javits Center. Entertainment journalist and Happy Sad Confused host Josh Horowitz moderated the discussion with Stine, Garrard, Jimbo, and Lewinson.

The presentation opened with a video from Peterson before moving into conversations about the panelists’ relationships with horror and their experiences adapting Stine’s work.

The discussion also highlighted “Terror on Tubi,” the platform’s year-round horror hub. Attendees were shown a clip from Pumpkinhead 2, giving the room a look at the sequel as the creators discussed the projects.

Stine’s involvement connected the conversation to the books and stories that first captured readers’ imaginations. Garrard brought the filmmaking perspective as writer and director of both Pumpkinhead 2 and the upcoming R.L. Stine’s Afraid of Clowns. Jimbo joined as a cast member of the new film, while Lewinson spoke from Tubi’s perspective.

Together, the lineup reflected the different stages of getting a story from its original idea to an audience.

 

A First Look at Afraid of Clowns

The panel took a theatrical turn when Kaptain Krazee interrupted the Q&A to introduce an exclusive first clip from R.L. Stine’s Afraid of Clowns.

The footage featured Jimbo as Ringmaster Rollo, scaring a lost child alongside a troupe of frightening clowns.

Set to premiere on Tubi in 2027, the film returns to Redhaven. This time, the story follows Frankie, who suspects that the arrival of Rollo and his mysterious troupe may be connected to a child who vanished years earlier.

When Frankie becomes convinced that her little brother could be their next target, she must persuade her friends to help uncover the truth and stop the clowns before he disappears.

The film reunites the creative team behind the Pumpkinhead movies, with Garrard writing and directing. For viewers following Tubi’s Stine collection, it offers another story set in a town where danger seems to keep finding new forms.

 

The Babysitter Joins Tubi’s R.L. Stine Lineup

One of the panel’s biggest announcements came when Lewinson revealed that an adaptation of R.L. Stine’s The Babysitter is in development at Tubi.

Directed by Trevor Calverley, the film follows sixteen-year-old Jenny, who takes a babysitting job despite a prowler terrorizing girls across town.

Threatening phone calls and the appearance of a dangerous fugitive leave Jenny increasingly suspicious of the people around her as the danger closes in.

The setup takes an ordinary teenage responsibility and turns it into a source of uncertainty—a familiar entry point for readers who know how quickly a Stine story can make an everyday situation feel unsettling.

A release date for The Babysitter was not included in the announcement shared with UNWRITTEN.

With Pumpkinhead 2 now available, Afraid of Clowns coming in 2027, and The Babysitter in development, Tubi’s NYCC presentation gave audiences a look at both the current collection and its next chapter.

For UNWRITTEN, getting an early look at the film on Tubi and then joining the press roundtable made the coverage especially memorable. We got to watch one of these stories come to life, then hear from the people helping bring more of Stine’s world to the screen.