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Universal's 'Creature from the Black Lagoon' Remake Still Developing

by Alex Billington
October 12, 2012
Source: THR

Another day, another remake. Do we really need to see this one? Why not just pay the writer to draft up an original sorta-remake story instead? A few years ago, we followed early development on a remake of the horror classic Creature from the Black Lagoon in the works at Universal. It went around for a bit, with director Breck Eisner attached, before he dropped out, and 47 Ronin's Carl Rinsch jumped in. Our last news was in 2009 and it sounds like Universal isn't happy with Rinsch and 47 Ronin, but they're still working on Black Lagoon. There's an update today and Universal has hired writer Dave Kajganich for a new draft.

This latest report comes from THR where they say that David Kajganich, credited on horror remakes The Invasion, Stephen King's Pet Sematary, It and The Stand, is now writing the new take on Creature from the Black Lagoon. This sounds doomed already considering this guy's history. Can we really expect him to come up with a unique, refreshingly original remake of a horror classic? (I highly doubt it.) Eric Newman and Marc Abraham of Strike Entertainment are producing as well as Gary Ross and Allison Thomas via Larger Than Life Productions. Filmmaker Gary Ross' father Arthur A. Ross was one of the original co-writers of the 1954 The Creature from the Black Lagoon, which seems to be why he's still involved in this remake.

The only other info that THR adds is that "despite earlier reports, Carl Rinsch is not attached to direct." No surprise there. I would assume they're waiting for this brand new screenplay from Kajganich before they start fielding offers from directors and figuring out who they can attach to this. This remake has actually been in the works for decades, as Universal "has been trying to remake the title since the early 1980s and Kajganich is starting from scratch." I am curious to see how an update about a "prehistoric water-breathing humanoid monster" turns out, and if it's any good, though I don't have much confidence now. Anyone?

Filed under Development, Horror, Movie News

From around the web:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=20908569 Ryan Gonzalez

I thought they already remade this movie. I think it was titled Old Greg. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4CgzfjxElY&feature=related
Steven

Perfect timing, perhaps they can use the concept art for JP4 that was on show earlier in the week!
JBrotsis

I'm just happy Universal...someone is considering to remake the film. The original was great, but I won't mind seeing the reptilehuman on screen again.
HelmutKnitt

In town, this guy is considered a fantastic screenwriter whose had the very bad luck of getting rewritten by the Wachowskis on INVASION and Joel Schumacher on TOWN CREEK. I feel bad for the guy. His script for Fincher's THE KILLER was amazing. He just needs a good director.
http://www.facebook.com/alubicz Adam Lubicz

I'm actually really excited to see how this pans out
Malcolm

This movie is actually perfect for being remade. The monster is iconic and so is the title, but how many movie-goers have actually seen the original? Also, our understanding of near-human species such as Neanderthals has grown considerably. The way we see them more like people now but still genetically distinct , the way we know humans interbred with them on a large scale. If we look at the Creature as another near-human, an offshoot, we can apply bits of what we know about real ones for it's portrayal. Similarly many genetic concepts are more widely known know than in the past; like that 'chickenosaurus' guy who wants to turn on long-dead gene sequences in a chicken to create one with some reptilian features. Perhaps people whos ancestors lived around where the Creature still lives have a bit of the creature in them, enough that genetic tampering could unlock gills or strength in a child? Anyway this is all random angles, but the point is there is serious potential in a horror film that takes these modern ideas into account.