“Aquaman” director James Wan is returning to the sea for his next feature film. He’s developing a remake of “Creature From the Black Lagoon” and is in early talks to direct for Universal Pictures.
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The project is described as a “grounded modernized retelling that leans into visceral horror whilst paying respect to the original classic.” It’s been 70 years since the “Creature From the Black Lagoon” first graced the big screen in the 1954 adaptation directed by Jack Arnold and starring Richard Carlson and Julia Adams. Over the years, several directors including Guillermo del Toro have tried to reboot the black-and-white monster movie about a group of scientists who encounter a prehistoric monster in the Amazonian waters, but none have gotten off the ground.
“Creature From the Black Lagoon” is Universal’s latest attempt to mine its vast catalog of classic monsters for theaters. After the studio’s experiment to fashion a monster-verse flamed out with Tom Cruise’s box office disaster “The Mummy,” it opted to focus on standalone features rather than an interconnected Dark Universe. So far, the outcomes have been mixed. Universal found critical and commercial success with 2020’s “The Invisible Man” starring Elisabeth Moss, which grossed $143 million worldwide on a $7 million budget. Yet “Renfield,” with Nicholas Hoult as Dracula’s unhinged henchman, was a major misfire with $26 million globally. A remake of “Wolf Man,” featuring Christopher Abbott, is currently in the works for the studio.
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Wan’s production company Atomic Monster, which recently merged with Jason Blum’s Blumhouse and is known for horror hits like “M3GAN,” “The Nun” and “Annabelle,” will produce the film. Wan is the creative force behind scary franchises like “The Conjuring” and “Saw” series. With “Furious 7” and “Aquaman” on his resume, he’s also one of the few directors with two films that have earned over $1 billion at the global box office. Wan is represented by CAA, Stacey Testro International, and Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light.
Atomic Monster’s Michael Clear and Judson Scott will serve as executive producers. Universal’s executive VP of production development Jay Polidoro will oversee for the studio.
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