Dylan Walsh – otherwise known as the guy from Nip/Tuck who isn’t Julian McMahon – hasn’t had the illustrious movie career of his co-star since the show started (hey, we can’t all star in two Fantastic Four movies and Premonition, can we?). But today came news that he’s bagged a lead role proper, in Screen Gems’ remake of the little-known but surprisingly decent 1987 horror, The Stepfather.
Walsh will assay the role made famous by Terry O’Quinn (who, of course, is now better known as Locke on Lost) in the original, which followed the fortunes of a rather picky and, quite frankly, psychopathic husband searching for the perfect family. If his family displeased him, he would butcher them and move on, rather than bother with little things like pre-nups.
Screen Gems’ remake, though, will differ slightly from the original, which pitted a teenage girl against the titular villain (who proved so popular that he returned in a sequel). Intended as a Hitchcockian thriller, the emphasis will be placed on a teenage boy (played by Penn Badgley) whose mother (Sela Ward) becomes engaged to Walsh’s initially likeable would-be stepfather.
When Walsh starts displaying some decidedly sociopathic tendencies, Badgley’s alarm bells start ringing and the stage is set for a bloody showdown.
Sounds intriguing, and let’s hope that Screen Gems knock this one out of the park, for the role of the Stepfather is a doozy, and one that catapulted O’Quinn to cult status. We’re not sure if Walsh is the right choice for the role, but we’ll reserve judgement until we see the final product.
Nelson McCormick, director of the forthcoming Prom Night remake, will call the shots from a script by J.S. Cardone. Filming will begin in March or April of next year.