Another Director For BLACK LAGOON Remake

You have to give Universal credit for tenacity. They want their Creature From The Black Lagoon remake and they’re going to get no matter how many creative types they have to go through. Commercial director Carl Rinsch is the latest to be brought through the project’s revolving door. Rinsch replaces Breck Eisner who left the project last year. Rinsch is also signed with Universal for 47 Ronin, a film based on a Japanese legend which has been filmed many times in Japan, including a version starring Toshiro Mifune. The script for the project made last year‘s Black List of hot, unproduced screenplays.

Attempts by Universal to revive the Gill Man date all the way back to 1982, when John Landis was looking to have the original film’s director helm a remake with a script by Quatermass creator Nigel Kneale. The plan to shoot the film in 3D was scuttled as Universal was already shooting the third Jaws movie in the format. In the mid 90s, Universal approached Peter Jackson, who declined in favor of doing a King Kong remake. Gary Ross, whose father Arthur A. Ross was one of the writers on the original film, and Guillermo Del Toro were also tied to the project at various times.

Throughout its long development process, numerous scripts have been written for this new take on Creature. But according to the LA Times, Rinsch will be starting over from scratch with a new screenplay.

Eisner, in the meantime, hasn’t strayed far from monster movie remake territory. He has recently finished shooting a remake of George Romero’s The Crazies which is due next February and is attached to a remake of John Carpenter’s The Brood.