From Warner Bros. and writer David Leslie Johnson comes an all-new remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, according to Deadline, inspired by the 1954 novel by Jack Finney. This will be the fifth live-action adaptation of the novel, having previously been brought to life for the big screen in the ’50s, ’70s, ’90s and ’00s.
The film’s synopsis is as follows:
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“The story takes place in a small town which is invaded by aliens who plant pods that eventually open to become humans, a copy of those who lived in the town. One by one, each citizen falls prey to these aliens as the pods are dropped alongside their beds, mature as they sleep and then replicate the human as they sleep. These alien humans, which show zero emotion, then start multiplying in the town. This is slowly figured out by a local doctor who tries to stop it all the while he (and the audience) never knows who is real and who is an alien ready to kill.”
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The first live-action adaptation was a big success in 1956, capitalizing on the sci-fi trends at the time and playing on people’s Cold War fears of secret agents. The 1978 film, on the other hand, was created in a completely different climate and incorporated themes of the political atmosphere of the time to be even more effective.
The remake was released on December 20, 1978, only a month after the infamous events at Jonestown. Under orders from cult leader Jim Jones, over 900 people drank a poisoned punch in a mass suicide. The film had clearly been completed long before the events at Jonestown occurred, but with the suicide shining a light on how one man could persuade people to do the unthinkable and the erratic behavior of his followers prior to the suicide made the film all the more effective.
Both the 1993 adaptation The Body Snatchers and the 2007 remake, the Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig-starring The Invasion, failed to make an impact on audiences, with the ’78 version being one of the best examples of successful remakes.
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Johnson has previously written The Conjuring 2 and is currently working on The Conjuring 3 and A Nightmare on Elm Street, so one of his strengths is clearly working with existing franchises to give fans new perspectives.
Considering the current political and media climate, the themes of Invasion of the Body Snatchers feel even more prescient, so it’s just a matter of time before the film makes its way to theaters for the story to feel just a relevant 60 years after the novel’s debut.
