A couple of months ago, there was chatter – denied at the time by the man himself – that Max Landis would be involved in the long-gestating remake of his father John's classic horror comedy An American Werewolf In London. Looks like he was actually waiting for deals to be close to finished as he's now on board the new Werewolf.
Deadline reports that Landis is aboard to write and direct the new film, the details of which are mostly being kept under wraps at this point. But Landis' father is an executive producer, having negotiated a rights deal with Anthony Waller, who made An American Werewolf In Paris in 1997. The Walking Dead's David Alpert and Robert Kirkman are on board to produce alongside Andy Trapani, who has been trying to put this together for nearly a decade.
The older Landis' 1981 original saw David Naughton and Griffin Dunne as two Americans on holiday in England who are attacked in the countryside by a werewolf. One is killed (though pops up in visions as a zombie) and the other begins a slow, painful transformation into a werewolf himself. Rick Baker won his first Oscar for creating the make-up and effects.
We're fascinated to see what Landis, who has written the likes of Chronicle, American Ultra and the upcoming Bright and wrote/directed Me Him Her will bring to the tale. Beware the moon...
See where An American Werewolf In London landed on our 50 Best Horror Movies Ever list.
David Ayer directing Will Smith and Joel Edgerton in Bright.