UPDATE: Wan helming “Creature From the Black Lagoon” has been confirmed (via Deadline). This could very well be his next film.
Wan is developing a grounded modernized retelling that leans into visceral horror while paying respect to the original classic.
06.23.24 — James Wan is finally done with ‘Aquaman’ and already has a couple of projects lined up. It’s already been announced that he is adapting “The Call of Cthulhu,” based on the 1928 H.P. Lovecraft short story of the same name. However, Wan has seemingly lined up another film as his potential next project.
Daniel Richtman is reporting that Wan is set to direct “Creature From the Black Lagoon” for Universal. This is a remake of the 1954 classic which tackled a strange prehistoric beast lurking in the depths of the Amazonian jungle and the group of scientists who try to capture the animal to bring it back to civilization for study.
Will Beall, who penned Wan’s ‘Aquaman,’ is writing the screenplay. The film will most likely be part of Universal’s “Monsterverse” which already includes “The Invisible Man” and the upcoming “Wolfman.”
Wan, who reshaped mainstream horror with “Saw,” “The Conjuring,” and “Insidious,” is now a free man — unshackled by the debacle that was “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” what with its reshoots, rewrites, on-set drama and failed test screenings. This “Creature From the Black Lagoon” remake could be an interesting take from him.