Hostel Llc/Lions Gate/Kobal/ShutterstockIn the 2000s, we realized that horror movies could get really horrific. Movies like Saw proved that not only could audiences handle extended scenes of body horror, but they were actually thrilled by them. In 2002, Eli Roth dabbled with this new subgenre, commonly called “splatter horror,” with his feature directorial debut, Cabin Fever, but in 2005 he practically perfected it with Hostel, a now-iconic and quite controversial horror movie. Over 20 years later, Roth had plans to bring the franchise back through the latest horror trend: the spinoff streaming series. However, it’s now permanently shelved. Just what went wrong? It could just be a sign of the times. Quentin Tarantino served as an executive producer on the original Hostel movie. | John Sciulli/WireImage/Getty ImagesDread Central resurfaced an old interview with Edward Douglas where Eli Roth confirmed that his Hostel streaming series was officially canceled. “Peacock said no. They’re not gonna do it. We were surprised and that’s their decision,” Roth said. However, he’s not opposed to bringing back the series in another form. “Chris Briggs and I wrote the scripts and we love them, and I definitely want to turn them into something,” he said. “So it might not be a TV series, but I still want to continue Hostel.”The Hostel series was first announced in 2024, when Variety reported it was in development from Fifth Season, the studio behind smash hit sci-fi series Severance, with Paul Giamatti attached to star. In 2025, Variety reported that it was picked up for development at Peacock. Unfortunately, that’s the last we heard, and it looks like the development process was not successful. The gore that is so central to the Hostel universe may not be enough of a draw in 2026. | Hostel Llc/Lions Gate/Kobal/ShutterstockPeacock has made a push into horror recently, especially with the Friday the 13th prequel series Crystal Lake. But apparently, Peacock passed on this one. Why? It might just be the shifting tastes in horror. There’s plenty of gore in modern horror, but it has also made room for more psychological themes, like the exploration of grief and healing in Crystal Lake or the meta elements in Camp Miasma. Hostel always had the gore front and center, and didn’t even have the moral “lesson” conceit that Saw had. Instead, in Hostel, tourists are kidnapped to become prey for the ultra-wealthy. Maybe there just isn’t a way to update that in a way that’s both new and fresh and loyal to the original. Eli Roth has been going through a bit of a slump lately, with neither of his last two features, 2026’s Ice Cream Man and 2024’s Borderlands, breaking 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. He’s perfectly poised for a comeback, but it won’t come in the form of a Hostel TV series. If splatter horror ever comes back into fashion, he’s golden, but it might be time for something a little more experimental than a reboot of a horror franchise that released three movies decades ago. Hostel (2005) is now streaming on Peacock.