The studio that brought us classic monster movies during the 1930s to the late 1940s has been resurrecting their fearless creatures for remakes like 2010's "The Wolfman" starring Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins. Now, Variety brings news that the studio wants to reboot their "Mummy" franchise (again!), and they've hired "Prometheus" writer Jon Spaihts to pen the feature.
You probably remember the 1990's take on "The Mummy" starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. "The Scorpion King" was the 2002 spin-off starring then action newb Dwayne Johnson, which saw equal success. Fraser made his way back to the story in 2008's "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," which raked in $401 million worldwide. Judging by the numbers, the studio feels there is still life left in the ancient corpse. So where does scribe Spaihts want to take things? "I see it as the sort of opportunity I had with 'Prometheus': to go back to a franchise's roots in dark, scary source material and simultaneously open it up to an epic scale we haven't seen before." We're already fans. What about you?
Head past the break where we've served up more Horror Bites, and get the rest of this week's news.
Bradley Cooper and Jaume Collet-Serra to Team for 'Here There Be Monsters'?
"Orphan" director Jaume Collet-Serra is currently chatting with Legendary Pictures/Warner Bros. about taking the reins of "Here There Be Monsters." This is the script that was recently offered to "Hangover" actor Bradley Cooper for a leading role. The story would set the star as real-life Revolutionary War figure John Paul Jones — the first well-known naval fighter in America and all-around heroic badass. The film starts before Jones was fighting the British and finds him hired by a shipping magnate to uncover the reasons why merchant vessels are mysteriously vanishing from the North Atlantic. Hint: giant squid. Collet-Serra may have his hands full now, since he's supposedly working on a Warner Bros. redux of the classic "Dracula" story (that features Russell Crowe), entitled "Harker." We're also uncertain how his "Akira" remake is going to figure into all this. The director was brought onto the project last summer, but it has stalled since Warner Bros. freaked at the big budget. Psychotic squid, Cooper, Collet-Serra: can you dig it?
'Piranha 3DD' Gets a Killer Rating
"Sequences of strong bloody horror violence and gore, graphic nudity, sexual content, language and some drug use," means we can only be talking about one thing: "Piranha 3DD!" The MPAA have delivered their ratings verdict for the fishy film. Just as we imagined, the bloodthirsty predators will be attacking a water park attraction — all to the tune of a glorious R-rating. The film reunites "Feast" director John Gulager and writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan for the sequel starring Danielle Panabaker, Katrina Bowden, Christopher Lloyd, Ving Rhames, David Hasselhoff, Gary Busey, and a truckload of other unlucky souls. Look for "Piranha 3DD" in theaters and VOD on June 1.
'True Blood' Star Alexander Skarsgard to Appear in Low Budget Outbreak Film
If you've been missing Nordic vamp hottie Alexander Skarsgard while "True Blood" is on break (at least until June 10), this news should make your toes curl. Warner Bros. wants to cast the actor in low budget terror flick "Hidden." Variety reported that Skarsgard is set to topline the horror-thriller that finds a family hiding in a bomb shelter after escaping a mysterious outbreak. Do we smell a zombie invasion? The actor will soon be appearing in alien oceanic tentpole "Battleship," but we hope he can make room for this little number. What say you?
'Zombieland' Star to Become a Ghost for 'Splice' Filmmaker
"Splice" filmmaker Vincenzo Natali is hard at work on a supernatural mystery that will find "Zombieland" actress Abigail Breslin in the lead. "Haunter" is being described as a "reverse ghost story" by Variety, who reported that Breslin would play Lisa — a teenage girl who died under terrible circumstances in 1986, along with her entire family. As ghosts, they become trapped in their own home unable to move on. Lisa reaches out from beyond the grave to help her present-day, living counterpart avoid the same fate that was inflicted upon her. Does it sound a little "American Horror Story-esque?" Let us know if you like Breslin as a ghost in the comments below.
'House of Horror' May Get New Blood Soon
"Saw" co-creator James Wan wants Maria Bello ("A History of Violence") for his new film. The actress is currently in talks with the director who is trying to cast Bello in "House of Horror" — centering on a gruesome crime scene. The film combines found footage, interrogation video, news cameras, and classic cinematography. Five college students are brutally murdered inside an old, abandoned home. Amateur ghost hunters are pegged for the crime, but they insist the house did it. Devil possession also comes into play, because, why not. Wan is producing and a director will be hired soon. "Frontier" filmmaker Xavier Gens was at the helm, but Dread Central reports that's no longer the case. Is Wan trying to sell us "Amityville" in disguise? Tell us what you make of "House of Horror" below.
Robert Englund Chats 'Nightmare on Elm Street' Remake and Unmade Prequel
"Their idea was to reboot the franchise and go with somebody younger who could play, could be the same Freddy for years. I'm almost – even now, I'm almost too old to go out there and do the stunts and stuff. I can do a couple of takes, but then I wake up the next morning and feel like I've been playing football," Freddy actor Robert Englund shared about Platinum Dunes' "Nightmare on Elm Street" remake that just came to pass. Englund also talked about the unproduced "Nightmare" prequel with MovieHole. (Yes, there really was one!)
Eli Roth's Netflix Horror Project
We're still excited to find out what director Eli Roth's horror project for Netflix will turn out to be like. The filmmaker is working on "Hemlock Grove" — part of the Insta/DVD company's new original series lineup. Deadline shared that a new actress has joined the cast of the murderous tale. Aussie talent Penelope Mitchell will be appearing in the new series, alongside the already announced Famke Janssen, Bill Skarsgard, and Landon Liboiron. The story is based on Brian McGreevey's upcoming goth horror novel and focuses on the murder of a young girl who is found close to a former steel mill. A freakishly weird group of suspects are eyed up for the killing, but two of them decide to take matters into their own hands and investigate the case themselves. Will you follow Roth's work anywhere?
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