James Wan is a modern horror legend with a stacked resume including 2004’s Saw, The Conjuring, and the cult classic Malignant. His next venture is revamping an iconic Universal Classic Monsters.
Per Deadline, Wan’s Atomic Monster and Universal Pictures will develop a new The Creature From the Black Lagoon. The filmmaker is still in early talks to direct. Little is known about the project, but the outlet notes that Wan will take on this as a “grounded modernized retelling” with “visceral horror” that will still respect the original.
Creature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 sci-fi horror film. In the late days of the Universal Monster craze, it was notable for its iconic monster, practical effects, and groundbreaking underwater sequences. The story is set in the Amazon rainforest, where a team of scientists discovers a mysterious fossilized hand. This leads them to explore a remote lagoon, where they encounter a prehistoric amphibious creature.
Since 2019, Universal has prioritized Black Lagoon and actively worked to make this reimagining a reality. Without the need to launch a cinematic universe on par with the MCU, the studio has wanted a “filmmaker-driven” project. While Wan can make a billion-dollar blockbuster like Fast 7 or Aquaman, he can still weird it up like Malignant.
There’s no set release date or production timeline at the time of writing. Stay tuned to Flickering Myth for more news on this new The Creature From the Black Lagoon and other Universal Monsters-related projects.
