Update on Universal Pictures remake of THE INVISIBLE MAN
Last year is was reported that writer and director David Goyer (The Dark Knight, Man of Steel) was developing a remake of the classic Universal monster film The Invisible Man. We haven't heard much about it since last summer when Goyer revealed some of his ideas for the film. "My take is kind of an extrapolation. It actually deals with a nephew of the first character. It's got some of the characters from the H.G. Wells book, but it's kind of a continuation." He went on to say that "It involves Scotland Yard getting their hands on the current Invisible Man and basically saying, ‘Wow, you'd be a really good secret agent to send into Imperial Russia right now.... It starts off from there." He also said that the style of the film would be very steampunk.
I liked the ideas he had for the film, and thought that this could be a good solid adaptation. Goyer recently talked to LA Times about the film giving us a little update on where things currently stand, and gives some more info on the direction he plans on taking the story.
It’s a period film but it’s period like Downey’s Sherlock Holmes. It’s period but it’s a reinvention of the character in the sort of way that Stephen Sommers exploded ‘The Mummy’ into a much bigger kind of mythology. That’s kind of what we’ve done with The Invisible Man.
Well, I didn't care much for what Sommers did with The Mummy so maybe that's not the best film to compare it to. He went on to say that,
It’s something slowly working its way through the Universal development channels. It’s still alive. We did some pre-vis tests and things like that that they (the studio) were very happy with. Now we’re going through the casting process. if they get the right lead, they’ll make it.
It would be interesting to know who they are looking at to take on the lead in the film. It's kind of funny that the whole thing hinges on who is cast in the lead role when that character will be invisible through most of the film.
The original 1933 movie is a great movie, and one of my favorite films from the Universal Monster vault. If you haven't seen it yet, you should check it out. It starred Claude Rains and was directed by James Whale.