Urban Legend is the next horror movie to get the reboot treatment as an updated version is now in development at Screen Gems. Colin Minihan has been tapped to write and direct a new take on the 1998 movie. Reportedly, the studio has set the project on the fast track and is currently casting its key roles. Mike Medavoy and Benjamin Anderson are also on board to produce for Phoenix Pictures, with Screen Gems' Eric Paquette and Michael Bitar overseeing the project.

Full details are not yet known about the plot of the Urban Legend Reboot, but the modernized reboot will "introduce an iconic new slasher for the digital age in a world where internet urban legends are born and move at a terrifying pace." Similar to the original, Minihan's reboot will also focus on a diverse group of college students, now investigating a series of murders that "resemble urban legends linked to the darkest corners of social media." Perhaps the moral of the story will be to be careful what you heart-react to online.

Released in 1998, the original Urban Legend was directed by Jamie Blanks and written by Silvio Horta, who sadly committed suicide just last month. The movie follows a group of college students looking to get to the bottom of a series of murders clearly inspired by the most-told urban legends from folklore. It starred Jared Leto, Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart, Tara Reid, Michael Rosenbaum, and Joshua Jackson. Several major horror genre stars were featured as well, including Robert Englund, Danielle Harris, and Brad Dourif.

As Urban Legend was a hit at the box office, it spawned two sequels. John Ottman's Urban Legends: Final Cut would be the first to follow, debuting on the big screen two years later in 2000. Again taking place on a college campus, its plot centers on a student surrounded by killings resembling famous myths when she begins writing a thesis on urban legends. Pet Sematary helmer Mary Lambert would later direct the video sequel Urban Legends: Bloody Mary in 2005, which obviously focused specifically on the classic tale of Bloody Mary.

Colin Minihan wrote and directed the harrowing 2018 thriller What Keeps You Alive, which follows a woman fighting for survival in the wilderness with her murderous wife trying to find her. He is known for his collaborative projects as a part of the filmmaking duo The Vicious Brothers with fellow Canadian filmmaker Stuart Ortiz. The pair's projects include writing and directing the cult horror movie Grave Encounters, which earned them the Best Director Award at the Bram Stoker International Film Festival.

Many of us might be getting some reboot fatigue with so many coming out and many more on the horizon, but an updated version of Urban Legend does make sense. Times have changed, and now these kinds of stories have a new way of getting passed around by going viral online. We'll see if this will translate well as a new horror movie, but the project seems to be in good hands with Minihan at the helm. This news comes to us from Deadline.