The Invisible Man reboot has proven to be a success with both audiences and critics alike, opening the door for more reinventions from the Universal Classic Monsters collection. Next up, it seems that Creature from the Black Lagoon will be getting the remake treatment and the studio has two MCU powerhouses in mind to lead this ambitious endeavor.
After the less than stellar performance from Tom Cruise’s remake of The Mummy, the Dark Universe was pretty much dead in the water. Instead of doing something similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Universal then decided to focus on updated versions of their classic horror creatures with the emphasis being on standalone stories.
The first attempt was from Saw co-creator Leigh Whannell, who directed The Invisible Man starring Elisabeth Moss. While many doubted it would be anything more than another B-level horror release, it’s since defied expectations and there are reports that a sequel’s already being considered. So, of course, the studio would want to keep this momentum going by bringing back another creature, and the next one hails from the Black Lagoon. And to lead the way, they have two very impressive names at the top of their wish list.
According to our sources – the same ones who told us Bill Murray was returning for Ghostbusters: Afterlife and that a new Scream movie is in the works, both of which have since been confirmed – MCU stars Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans are reportedly being eyed for the Creature from the Black Lagoon remake. Universal has plans to bring the classic horror motion picture back to life with the two playing the film’s leads. Though the exact roles weren’t specified by our sources, we imagine Johansson’s in the running for Julie Adams’ character Kay Lawrence, and Evans will presumably be up for Richard Carlson’s Dr. David Reed from the original. Neither is locked in just yet, mind you, but they are under consideration.
Of course, there’s been talk of remaking Creature from the Black Lagoon for a while now and this isn’t the first time that Johansson’s been linked to the project. She was previously rumored to be involved right after Dracula Untold released, but that version of the pic obviously never happened. And it’s probably for the best that it didn’t, as it’ll now be a standalone effort and will likely fare much better than if it had been part of the Dark Universe.
In any case, it may be a while before we see production heat up on the Creature from the Black Lagoon remake, but we’re not that far away from seeing Johansson’s last ride as Black Widow in her own solo film, which releases May 1st, 2020.
