James Wan In Talks For Creature From The Black Lagoon Reboot

This year marks the 70th anniversary of Creature from the Black Lagoon, a film that introduced one of the few Universal Monsters who hasn’t been endlessly remade. But the Gill-man may finally be getting a chance for a comeback, with reports that horror veteran James Wan is in negotiations to direct and produce a new Creature from the Black Lagoon remake.

Via Deadline, Wan’s take on Creature from the Black Lagoon will be “a grounded modernized retelling that leans into visceral horror while paying respect to the original classic.” In the 1954 original, Ben Chapman and Ricou Browning played the Gill-man, a creature of unknown origin who ran afoul of an expedition in the Amazon. The creature also displayed a very obvious infatuation with a young woman named Kay Lawrence (Julia Adams), who did not return his affections.

Two sequels to the original film were made, but there hasn’t been a new Creature from the Black Lagoon movie in nearly six decades. Numerous directors have attempted to get a remake or a reboot of the ground, including John Landis, John Carpenter, Ivan Reitman, Breck Eisner, and Guillermo del Toro. Although del Toro’s idea to feature a romance between Kay and the creature was rejected by Universal, he revisited the concept in his Oscar-winning film, The Shape of Water.

If the new Creature from the Black Lagoon goes forward, Wan will produce the film through his Atomic Monster production company for Universal Pictures. Wan’s previous films include Saw, The Conjuring, Insidious, and the two Aquaman movies.