Often considered one of the best werewolf films of all time, An American Werewolf in London has joined the ranks of other horror classics that are getting the remake treatment. What makes this installment a little more interesting is that Max Landis, son of the original film’s director, John Landis, is developing the project. The filmmaker recently revealed that it’s a project he’s still working on and is about halfway through the current version of the script.
“I’m gonna write it and I think I’m gonna direct it,” Landis confirmed when speaking with IMDb. “I like the script I wrote, you know? I’m halfway through it right now, I hope it turns out great.”
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During the interview, Landis also expressed many of the doubts about developing the project that fans also have. The idea of developing any remake can put a lot of pressure on a filmmaker, especially when the son of the original filmmaker is the one bringing the project to life. Landis is clearly aware of how, were he to be the one to move forward with the project, he would be subjected to cries of nepotism and critics would be stapling his “face to a bullseye,” but considering how passionate he is about the project, he didn’t seem dismayed by the idea.
The interview was conducted by Kevin Smith, who couldn’t help but gush about the concept of a son doing a remake of his father’s film, which Landis was quick to reveal wasn’t an opinion shared by his father. After Smith brought up how excited he was, Landis joked, “You should ask my dad how he feels about it,” and implied he’s been the brunt of many conversations with his father about the concept.
These remarks from Landis echo his sentiments from a podcast he did in June.
“We’ll see if I can do it. We’ll see if I can pull it off. We’ll see if they even make it,” the filmmaker revealed. “My goal is…I feel like all of the best remakes focus on one thing in the original movie, take a lot of the images of the original, and then remix that really tightly. With American Werewolf I’m doing that, but I’m also just gonna try and do American Werewolf as best I can. We’ll see. I can’t make no promises.”
Fans might have to be patient for any updates regarding a remake, but it sounds like the idea is still definitely on the table.
