What We Know About James Wan's Creature from the Black Lagoon

I have some amazing news that will make your creature-loving hearts skip a beat! James Wan, the mastermind behind Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring, has been announced as the director of a new Creature from the Black Lagoon movie, which is being made with his production company Atomic Monster and Universal. That means that we are getting a new Universal monster movie!

The original Creature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 horror film directed by Jack Arnold, where a group of scientists travel through the Amazon searching for an evolutionary “missing link” between sea and land creatures - and they encounter a terrifying sea monster.

Original Creature from the Black Lagoon movie poster. 

The original film stars Richard Denning, Richard Carlson, Julie Adams, Ricou Browning as the creature on land, and Ben Chapman as the creature under water. The Creature from the Black Lagoon is one of my absolute favorite Universal Monsters. Honestly, it’s one of my favorite movies in general. Of course I have a stronger connection to movies like Dracula, Frankenstein, and Bride of Frankenstein (for obvious reasons), but there is something about Creature from the Black Lagoon that I love so much. It’s such a cool movie and it clearly inspired movies like Jaws. It has incredible tension and these amazing underwater scenes.

Now James Wan is one of the kings of modern horror. I think he’s really special. His movies are consistently entertaining, and he’s not afraid to make big choices. He is really good at building tension and atmosphere, and making you jump out of your seat. I can only imagine what he might do with a movie like Creature.

What can we expect from James Wan’s Creature? Deadline says, “he is developing a grounded, modernized retelling leaning into visceral horror while also paying respect to the original classic.” This is his first project since combining his production company Atomic Monster with Blumhouse.

When I think about some of Atomic Monster’s other movies such as M3gan and Malignant I see that he’s not afraid to take a less traditional route and go a little off the wall sometimes, which is a total draw for me. I also think about movies like Aquaman, (full disclosure, I have not seen it, though I have seen a few clips) which did really well. I think this might actually mean that he had an advantage over other directors because he clearly already has experience with underwater filming, and I bet that he brings some really good ideas to the table.

The Creature remake doesn’t have a writer yet, so that does leave a lot up in the air. There was an announcement a week or two ago that Leah McKendrick was writing a monster movie with Atomic Monster and Universal…I’m almost positive that is something totally difference from this. My first thought was Leigh Whannell, I loved what he did with the Invisible Man, but I think he’s working on Wolf Man right now so it’s probably not possible for him to do both. I am really curious to see what direction they go with that. Of course, I’m really excited to see how they’re going to cast this.

James Wan is one of the kings of modern horror.

I think this announcement is something to be excited about. It’s no secret that I was disappointed (and maybe even borderline heartbroken) with the failed Dark Universe and the disaster that was The Mummy. However, I think that Universal really learned a lesson or took a message from it: that they don’t need to be forcing a Universe before it’s time. Instead, they can create these really good standalone horror movies. I think we’re finally entering this era of a potential embarrassment of riches. We had this great Invisible Man movie, now I have high hopes for The Wolf Man and I have high hopes for this new Creature from the Black Lagoon movie. I think there’s so much potential there and that’s how we’re going to capture new audiences that fall in love with these new monsters. Hopefully, they then gain an awareness and appreciation for the monsters who paved the way.

This of course is not the first time that we have tried to bring a Creature remake to life, but I do think this one will stick. All the way back in the ‘80s John Landis worked on a version that didn’t happen. In the ‘90s John Carpenter was attached, there’s even a script out there from when he was going to make that movie, but it didn’t happen. At one time, Gary Ross was in the mix (I think his dad was a co-writer on the original movie). Most recently, (and probably most famously) Guillermo del Toro was rumored to be working on a remake with whispers of Scarlett Johannesson starring in that version, but it didn’t happen. I think that did lead to what is probably the most famous modern remake, which is really more of an homage: The Shape of Water. The Shape of Water is a movie that I absolutely adore. I thought it had such a cool perspective and lens. It’s not horror, but more like sci fi fantasy and romance. It’s as if the Creature and Julie Adams character got together in the end. I think it’s very good and you should watch.

The Gill Man on land played by Ben Chapman.

James Wan’s movie is sure to have an entirely different perspective, and I’m really excited to see it. I am praying to the Universal Gods to create this film without super heroes and to not make it a really big action movie. I want it to maintain the spirit of the original. I want limited CGI, I prefer a monster in a costume with special effects makeup on. I don’t want them to use a ton of CGI to try to trick us out of a good movie. One of my favorite things about the original Creature from the Black Lagoon is the Amazonian setting. It gives off this lush vacation vibe with all of this horror lurking beneath the surface. I do understand that this is going to be a different story, but I would love if the jungle somehow managed to make the cut, though I understand if it doesn’t.

I want to know what you guys think James Wan is going to do with this movie. Who are your dream writers and cast?