Back in 1990 a little comedy horror movie about spiders gave every arachnophobe the shivers, and now it looks like Arachnophobia is getting a remake. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new take on the story of a deadly spider that finds its way into a small American town and mates with a local species to create a plague of lethal arachnids will be written and directed by Christopher Landon, best known for Happy Death Day and Freaky. Amblin Partners will be producing the new movie along with horror master James Wan, who began developing the remake back in 2018, and Michael Clear, and Jurassic World producer Frank Marshall will act as executive producer for the creepy-crawler creature feature.
Arachnophobia starred Jeff Daniels as a town doctor, whose fear of spiders means his belief that people in the town are being killed by eight-legged freaks is not taken seriously until the bodies begin to pile up. With a cast list include Julian Sands as a spider expert who meets a webby end, and John Goodman in a show-stealing role as a local bug-exterminator who seems to have been waiting his whole life for the chance to battle a colony of deadly spiders. There is currently no word on casting or where the movie will arrive.
The original movie was a reasonable hit on its release, grossing $83 million between its domestic release and home video sales, and opened in theaters at number 3 behind Ghost and Die Hard 2. Critically the movie was also a success, with a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and being noted as an “affectionate, solidly built tribute to Hollywood’s classic creature features.” With that in mind, the remake, which could well ditch the practical effects of the original for CGI arachnids, will have some way to go to beat the skin-crawling greatness of its predecessor.
Arachnophobia Comes With The Might of James Wan’s Atomic Monsters Behind It.
James Wan and his Atomic Monsters production company have been behind a number of the most notable horror movies of the last decade, and for that reason the Arachnophobia remake could well be in good hands. Atomic Monsters is the production team behind the latest adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, which hits theaters in September, and of course Wan has been recently directing Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom for Warner Bros.
When it comes to horror movies, James Wan has seen success with the Saw franchise, as well as Insidious, The Conjuring and Malignant. He has also directed the action movie Furious 7, as well as both Aquaman movies, proving that he can work on both huge blockbusters and movies that will keep viewers on the edge of their seat with their eyes hidden behind their hands. Wan was originally to have directed a horror-themed Aquaman spin-off The Trench, but that was canceled last year, allowing the writer/director/producer to step to some other projects, which it seems Arachnophobia is one of.
Expect news on casting, filming dates and a release schedule for the new version of Arachnophobia in the near future.