James Wan is no stranger to horror after launching both the Saw and The Conjuring franchises but also producing the short-lived body horror superhero series Swamp Thing for DC Universe.
TheHollywoodReporter now reports he’s been hired by Universal Pictures to help with another unnamed horror project but this time potentially connected with the Universal Monsters franchise.
Sources say the story takes its cues from Universal’s classic monster legacy and shines it through a modern prism. With shades of Disturbia, the story will focus on a group of teens who discover that a neighbor is building a monster in his basement. Spoiler: the monster gets loose.
It sort of sounds like Rear Window, Stranger Things, Frankenstein, The Burbs, and Monster Squad all rolled into one movie.
The project will have screenwriter Robbie Thompson, who recently worked on the Netflix fantasy series Cursed that focuses on a heroic take of the Arthurian character Nimue (eventually becomes The Lady of The Lake).
Bridesmaid director Paul Feig is developing a project called The Dark Army and Rocketman director Dexter Fletcher has been tasked to work on a Reinfeld (Dracula’s lawyer turned servant) movie with Rick & Morty writer Ryan Ridley, both those films could have a comedic edge to them given the people involved creatively.
There was also talk from Blumhouse Productions’ head Jason Blum that they would be interested in tackling more iconic Universal Monsters properties after The Invisible Man.
Given that The Invisible Man has been somewhat of a hit considering it’s $7-9 million budget and solid global debut last weekend, it’s hard not to at least consider the possibility that Universal will look towards Blumhouse and writer/director Leigh Whannell to help them out again.
Wan has been a busy fella lately shooting his Gallio homage movie for New Line Cinema titled Malignant, set to be released on August 14th.
He’s also getting ready to make Aquaman 2 starring Jason Mamoa for Warner Bros. as the first installment earned the studio over a billion dollars.
Aquaman 2 is expected to release on December 16th, 2022 and potentially return to Village Roadshow Studios with cameras beginning to roll sometime in 2021.
SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
