James Wan is in early talks to develop a modern reimagining of Creature From the Black Lagoon, one of Universal’s classic monsters. Wan’s vision will blend his peculiar style of modern horror with the classic tropes explored in the original 1954 film directed by Jack Arnold. It seems Wan will push the adaptation into more grounded territory, a change from his usual narrative style which we’ve seen in pieces like Insidious and Malignant. Then again, those were based on original material; now Wan must follow an outline from an original film about an amphibious humanoid who falls in love.
As reported by Deadline, Wan’s involvement in the project starts as a producer, as the potential film will be made by his Atomic Monster banner in collaboration with Blumhouse Productions. Jason Blum’s company recently acquired Atomic Monster, marking the beginning of a strong creative endeavor in the horror universe. Blum has also claimed in the past that he wants to reboot another famous horror franchise, but it seems they have found their new project.
There’s no better director and producer to lead the project. James Wan has transcended the boundaries of horror, making very successful films for Universal Pictures like Furious 7, and even participating in the superhero universe with Aquaman. However, there’s no denying his talent for straight-up horror narratives, as his Conjuring universe is the highest-grossing horror franchise.
James Wan’s Creature From the Black Lagoon Could Bring Universal’s Dark Universe Back From the Dead
If Wan’s Creature From the Black Lagoon moves forward, it will be a great chance for Universal Pictures to reawaken its Dark Universe concept. Dark Universe was a modern revamping of the Universal Monsters IP that started with 2014’s Dracula Untold and continued with 2017’s The Mummy. The problem was that the reception of both films wasn’t great, and Universal confirmed in 2019 that a new cinematic universe was no more. They would only follow the “franchise” with standalone films. Their 2023 film, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, which revamped Dracula in some way, was a box office flop, and the Dark Universe stayed dead.
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But there were also successful reboots. In 2020, Leigh Whannell made The Invisible Man, which took the character from the Universal catalog and reimagined it as an exceptional horror film that made more than $140 million at the box office. The film was backed by Blumhouse, and we can’t help but associate Whannell with Wan’s interest in making another Universal Monsters film. Whannell and Wan’s relationship is more than important in the world of horror, having worked together in creating franchises including Saw and Insidious.
Could Wan’s next horror film be a sign that Universal is revamping its signature horror IP? It seems more likely that Universal and Blumhouse will continue tinkering with one-off genre films based on classic monsters, as the best reboots have been just that.
