Screen Gems is fast-tracking a new take on Urban Legend, this time targeting social media. The studio has set indie filmmaker Colin Minihan to write and direct the thriller that’s currently cast, reports Deadline.
“Urban Legend will introduce an iconic new slasher for the digital age in a world where internet urban legends are born and move at a terrifying pace.
“The movie will center on a diverse cast of college students as they navigate a series of bizarre deaths that resemble urban legends linked to the darkest corners of social media.”
It’s unclear if this is considered a reboot, a remake, or something different altogether, but Sony’s TriStar Pictures was behind the first three Urban Legend films. In the Jamie Blanks-directed 1998 slasher starring Jared Leto, Alicia Witt, and Rebecca Gayheart, a college student suspects a series of bizarre deaths are connected to certain urban legends. As Wiki notes, it was followed by two sequels: Urban Legends: Final Cut, which was released theatrically in 2000, and the direct-to-video film Urban Legends: Bloody Mary in 2005.
The original Urban Legend was written by Silvio Horta.
For those who don’t know Minihan, his excellent micro-budget feature What Keeps You Alive premiered at SXSW. He also helmed It Stains the Sand Red and co-directed Extraterrestrial and Grave Encounters. He’s a phenomenal choice for a big-time horror film.
Mike Medavoy, who was a producer on the original Urban Legend, will produce with Benjamin Anderson for Phoenix Pictures.
