Three days after creating their account on July 2, a YouTube user called Eleanora Poe posted a single video: A trailer for the upcoming Netflix adaptation of Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events. (In the series, Eleanora Poe is the sister of Arthur Poe, the unhelpful and inept banker in charge of the Baudelaire orphans’ guardianship; she is also editor-in-chief of The Daily Punctilio.) Unfortunately, Variety reports that the trailer is fake. It’s easy to see why people might be fooled, as the trailer features several iconic symbols that Snicket fans will recognize. A large eye appears in a painting, and a collection of papers includes mention of the tragic fire that killed the Baudelaire parents as well as a marriage license between Violet Baudelaire and (presumably) the evil Count Olaf. There’s also a threatening silhouette of Count Olaf that may actually be the threatening silhouette of Jim Carrey.
The fake teaser is set to Dresden Dolls’ “Missed Me,” a fine choice, but one that ignores the excellent songs written by The Gothic Archies for the audiobook version of the series. (Though the record shown in the teaser does say The Gothic Archies—clearly this video was well executed.)
The planned series, which was announced last fall, is still real. When it was announced, Lemony Snicket said, “I can’t believe it. After years of providing top-quality entertainment on demand, Netflix is risking its reputation and its success by associating itself with my dismaying and upsetting books.”