Last week, we discussed what comic projects might lie in Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier’s future. Well, they are all going to have to wait. Variety is reporting that Leterrier has signed to direct the Clash of the Titans remake.
Leterrier replaces the previously announced Steven Norrington, who dropped out of the project over budgetary concerns.
Warner Brothers is putting the project in the fact track for a 2010 release due to competition from a similarly themed War of the Gods from director Tarsem Singh and production house Relativity Media.
Both projects are set in the world of Greek Mythology and the similarities go all the way down to the lead character’s name: Perseus in Clash, Theseus in War.
Usually, in foot races like these, there is one winner and one movie that doesn’t get made. However, there are rare occasions where two mirror image films make it all the way to theaters at the same time (as exemplified by 1998’s Armageddon and Deep Impact).
I have to agree with FilmBuff Online Grand Poobah Rich Drees assessment of this remake. The original was known primarily for its intriguing mix of name actors and being the last film to feature Ray Harryhausen’s trademark stop-motion animation. The remake’s tight budgetary reins would seem to prohibit the former, and the producers are replacing the latter with computer generated images. All you have left to imitate from the 1981 version is the campy, overly familiar story. Good luck with that.
