Variety is reporting that Carl Rinsch, director of February’s forthcoming remake of George Romero’s The Crazies, is in talks with Universal to direct the studios’ long gestating remake of the 1954 classic Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Recently Breck Eisner (Sahara) had been attached to helm the project, but left earlier this year.
Gary Ross (of Seabiscuit and Pleasantville) wrote previous drafts of the project. Fans will no doubt know that Gary Ross is in fact the son of Arthur Ross, one of the co-writers of the original Creature from the Black Lagoon (along with Maurice Zimm and Harry Essex).
Rinsch is currently next directing 47 Ronin, also for Universal, a samurai-adventure pic to star Keanu Reeves.
Universal is eager to continue resurrecting their classic monsters, the Black Lagoon remake would fall into place behind U’s The Wolfman, starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving, out in theaters February 2010. The studio is also in talks with Guillermo Del Toro to spearhead a new Frankenstein project.
The original Creature, released in 3-D in 1954, told the story of a scientific expedition that journeys down the Amazon River and discovers the Gill Man, a missing link between marine and terrestrial life. As the group of scientists (led by genre stalwarts Richard Carlson and Richard Denning) tries to capture the beast, it falls for the beautiful Kay (Julie Adams), in classic Beauty and the Beast fashion.
Creature from the Black Lagoon was produced by Mercury Theatre veteran William Alland, who would become Universal’s resident sci-fi producer. It was directed by Jack Arnold, and was his second sci-fi picture (after he and Alland’s debut success It Came From Outer Space). Arnold would go on to helm some of the ’50′s most beloved genre titles, including Tarantula and The Incredible Shrinking Man.
The Gill Man became an instant pop-culture phenomenon, spawning two sequels (1955′s Revenge of the Creature and 1056′s The Creature Walks Among Us) and the character was even featured prominently in Billy Wilder’s classic sex comedy The Seven Year Itch, starring Marilyn Monroe.
What i cannot figure is “WHY remake it?”.
There is a bigger story they are ignoring here: for that creature to be there there must have been a whole colony in the general area of Black Lagoon because something like that cannot exist solely alone.
There must be more of those creatures there, that would be the basis for a film:
“Return To The Black Lagoon” an expedition back to the location of the original film to try to capture a mating pair.
Why remake ‘The Creature From The Black Lagoon when you can restart the movie franchise?
The woman from the original film is still alive, i would love to see her back as an older, wiser Kay Lawrence.
I do not know anyone who is eager to see this film but it could last if they resumed where the previouse three films left off.