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The ‘Rampage’ Adaptation Is In Serious Trouble

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While I was beyond disappointed with Godzilla, I had high hopes for New Line Cinema’s Rampage, which would pit mankind against a giant gorilla, wolf and lizard.

Rampage is an adaptation of the classic video game in which the players controls the aforementioned monsters in an attempt to destroy cities across the country.

Now, New Line is looking at another disaster film for inspiration. And it’s a bad one.

Deadline is reporting that Brad Peyton is in talks with the studio to direct Rampage, reteaming him with the key players from the summer hit San Andreas, star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and producer Beau Flynn.

This is terrible news as, while Johnson is always a scene-stealer who can carry a movie on his massive shoulders, San Andreas was awful. And it’s awful because of both the screenplay and overabundance of CGI. You see, San Andreas looked like a lame cartoon, with giant tidal waves and buildings crashing down. It was poorly done, as the execution left little to the imagination. It’s so unrealistic that I found myself mentally checking out at multiple times during the movie.

Do we really want to see San Andreas with three giant monsters digitally inserted into it? Because that’s exactly what we’re going to get, unless of course the filmmakers learned from their mistakes. Odds are they didn’t as San Andreas‘ gross has shaken past the $460 million global gross mark worldwide to become most certainly the most successful original live action tent pole launch this summer, and also the highest grossing film Warner Bros has released this year (Deadline).

Oh, did I mention that Brad Peyton also directed both Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore? Yeah, that’s who I want directing an adaptation of the beloved videogame. Consider me nervous, even though there have been some truly great surprises in Hollywood (like Bryan Singer’s X-Men film).

The live action adaptation of the 80s Midway Arcade game Rampage has a script by Ryan Engle, who scripted the Liam Neeson-starrer Non-Stop. In the script, three giant monsters–a gorilla, a lizard and a wolf–wreaking havoc on major cities and landmarks across North America, with Johnson standing in their path.

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

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Matilda Firth Joins the Cast of Director Leigh Whannell’s ‘Wolf Man’ Movie

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Pictured: Matilda Firth in 'Christmas Carole'

Filming is underway on The Invisible Man director Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man for Universal and Blumhouse, which will be howling its way into theaters on January 17, 2025.

Deadline reports that Matilda Firth (Disenchanted) is the latest actor to sign on, joining Christopher Abbott (Poor Things),  Julia Garner (The Royal Hotel), and Sam Jaeger.

The project will mark Whannell’s second monster movie and fourth directing collaboration with Blumhouse Productions (The Invisible Man, Upgrade, Insidious: Chapter 3).

Wolf Man stars Christopher Abbott as a man whose family is being terrorized by a lethal predator.

Writers include Whannell & Corbett Tuck as well as Lauren Schuker Blum & Rebecca Angelo.

Jason Blum is producing the film. Ryan Gosling, Ken Kao, Bea Sequeira, Mel Turner and Whannell are executive producers. Wolf Man is a Blumhouse and Motel Movies production.

In the wake of the failed Dark Universe, Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man has been the only real success story for the Universal Monsters brand, which has been struggling with recent box office flops including the comedic Renfield and period horror movie The Last Voyage of the Demeter. Giving him the keys to the castle once more seems like a wise idea, to say the least.

Wolf Man 2024

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