It’s been a while since we heard anything about the long-rumored remake of cult classic horror comedy An American Werewolf in London, but the last update we got said that the project was finally moving forward at Universal Pictures, with a director attached: none other than Jon Landis’ always outspoken son, Max.
Landis Jr. has signed on to direct and write the movie, with The Walking Dead‘s David Alpert and Robert Kirkman producing through their Skybound Entertainment. Jon Landis is apparently also on board as an executive producer.
For those unfamiliar, the original ’80s flick told the story of a pair of American tourists who are attacked by a monster while trekking across the Yorkshire moors, one of whom also becomes a werewolf at the next full moon. As he struggles to come to terms with the terrible truth and endures regular visits from his recently deceased (and increasingly decaying) pal, he also falls for the nurse that looked after him when he first arrived in hospital.
An American Werewolf in London is generally regarded as one of the greatest horror comedies of all-time because of its effortless blend of scares, gags and at times, genuine poignancy. It remains to be seen if Max Landis can replicate some of that magic for his own interpretation, but while speaking on the Rugged Man podcast recently, he explained how he plans to approach the project.
“The thing I would do with CGI would be leg movement, and I would have the entire wolf’s face, back, and body be practical, and then I would fully CGI the legs for organic movements. If you remake American Werewolf and the transformation scene isn’t practical, you have fu*ked up.”
Further on in the interview, Landis noted that despite earlier reports, the film may not go ahead, saying that he’ll see if the studio even ends up making it.
“We’ll see if I can do it. We’ll see if I can pull it off. We’ll see if they even make it. My goal is I feel like all of the best remakes focus on one thing in the original movie, take a lot of the images of the original and then remix that really tightly. With American Werewolf I’m doing that, but I’m also just gonna try and do American Werewolf as best I can. We’ll see. I can’t make no promises.”
That doesn’t sound too encouraging. Landis is obviously interested in doing it, but as of right now, it doesn’t look like anything’s set in stone. Admittedly, An American Werewolf in London isn’t necessarily a horror movie that needs a remake, but we’re not opposed to seeing one. Especially not with a talented and exciting filmmaker like Max Landis on board.
We’ll have to see how things pan out here, but as always, we’ll keep you posted as and when further updates arise.
