Movies
Warner Bros. Developing a New Version of 1950s Sci-fi Classic ‘Forbidden Planet’
One of all time classics of the science fiction genre, 1956’s Forbidden Planet is getting a modern day update from Warner Bros., Deadline has exclusively reported this week.
Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man) is writing the screenplay, with Emma Watts producing.
Deadline’s report details, “For its forward-thinking themes, the film is considered a north star for science fiction writing and cinema that came after it. It has never had a big-screen remake — though James Cameron reportedly once considered it — partly because the rights were complicated and difficult to untangle.
“The studio and Watts finally got that major obstacle out of the way,” Deadline continues. “The former studio chief Watts has leaned into producing the big ambitious tentpoles she shepherded from the executive suites, and this has the makings to be one of those.”
In the original movie from director Fred M. Wilcox, “A starship crew in the 23rd century goes to investigate the silence of a distant planet’s colony, only to find just two survivors, a powerful robot, and the deadly secret of a lost civilization.” Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Richard Anderson and Leslie Nielsen starred in the 1956 movie, which was produced by MGM.
Wikipedia reminds, “Forbidden Planet pioneered several aspects of science fiction cinema. It was the first science fiction film to depict humans traveling in a man-made faster-than-light starship. It was also the first to be set entirely on a planet orbiting another star, far away from Earth and the Solar System.”
Additionally, the film’s Wikipedia page notes, “The Robby the Robot character is one of the first film robots that was more than just a mechanical “tin can” on legs; Robby displays a distinct personality and is an integral supporting character in the film.”
Described as “Ted meets ET,” David Mikalson’s raunchy comedy Goblin is being brought to life over at A24, and Will Forte (“The Four Seasons”) is now in talks to star.
Deadline first reported the news this afternoon.
Kenneth Branagh has been cast to voice the titular Goblin in the upcoming A24 movie, with the character said to be “green-colored” as well as “anatomically correct.”
Skyler Gisondo (Superman) is reportedly playing the Goblin’s human best friend.
The mysterious project sounds a bit like films including A Gnome Named Gnorm and more recently, Frankie Freako, though it’s important to note that it’s not billed as a horror movie.
Deadline details, “After [Mikalson] hatched the idea to make an outrageous buddy comedy about a goblin, using a practical puppet and operating outside the Hollywood system, his script quickly got him a rep team. While others might have eyed the raunchy comedy as a writing sample or planned to wait to see the micro-budget version Mikalson has been directing in Kentucky, A24 jumped all over it. The hot indie essentially has agreed to finance a full feature.”
“There was a lot of interest, but A24 came with what Mikalson really wanted, after spending all his money crafting the puppet title character: they acquired the movie and agreed to let him make it with a significantly increased budget than what he had left after creating the anatomically correct title character,” Deadline’s report goes on to explain.
What does the titular Goblin actually look like? Well, a cake that Mikalson had whipped up for his reps might give us our first look at what to expect. Deadline explains the photo you’ll see down below, “Take a look at the cake he commissioned with Marc Gravelle at Cake Art in West Hollywood, to present to his reps as thanks for making his dream come true.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.