First Showing is reporting that Elijah Wood has officially signed on to play the lead role in a remake of William Lustig’s 1980 horror film Maniac.
At first, it seems like a rather strange choice for Wood, who typically sticks to more kid-friendly or dramatic projects like Lord of the Rings, Happy Feet, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but you may recall that he also played the small role of a psychotic cannibal killer in the great adaptation of Frank Miller’s Sin City. I for one have never seen the original Maniac, but I’m always up for seeing an actor try something that’s outside of their normal comfort zone.
This remake will have Wood playing “a strange guy who sells antique mannequins but also happens to be a serial killer who finds his victims online. Once he has his prey in front of him, he scalps and kills them, and all of this apparently gives him some sort of satisfaction of revenge against his abusive mother.”
The film is being directed by Franck Khalfoun (P2) from a screenplay by Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur (The Hills Have Eyes, Piranha 3D).
Wood is currently busy reprising his role of Frodo Baggins for Peter Jackson‘s upcoming adaptation of The Hobbit, the first part of which is due out next year.
A release date for Maniac has not been set.
