Indie
‘Phantasm’ Remake: No Plans, Says Don Coscarelli
Back in 2005, New Line Cinema had announced plans to remake Don Coscarelli’s 1979 indie cult Phantasm.
Phantasm, about a young boy and his friends who face off against a mysterious grave robber known only as the Tall Man, is screening at the ongoing SXSW Film Festival after having been restored in 4K by J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot.
Coscarelli, who created the franchise and directed all four of the released films, is at the Austin-based festival talking about the brand new restoration that’s allegedly mind-blowing. AITH caught up with him to find out the status of a remake, considering it’s been over a decade.
“Nothing is ever off the table. You have a big casting hurdle there with Tall Man. Currently there’s nothing planned, but if you had the right director, the right story, the right direction in terms of making something unique and still staying true to the spirit of the story. You know, all these years working on Phantasm, I’m like a Phantasm fan too, so I would go see it!”
While details on New Line’s plans were never released, I had heard behind-the-scenes that they wanted to make a Star Wars trilogy for horror fans. Nothing ever came into fruition past the announcement.
Now, with remakes aplenty, could the revived interest bring the Tall Man back to the big screen? Maybe J.J. Abrams would get behind it?
Right now Anchor Bay is sitting on the fifth and final entry in the original franchise, Phantasm: Ravager, directed by David Hartman.
The Wayans are out to cancel the Cancel Culture with Scary Movie, and the cast assures it will do just that.
“They sort of have an across-the-board style,” Anna Faris tells EW. “It’s always been a part of the Wayans Brothers, their electricity. ‘Can we offend you? Will you still love us? Come on, you still love us, don’t you?'”
Regina Hall concurs, promising the “boundary-pushing” sixth installment in the horror parody franchise will “offend everyone.”
EW has shared a batch of behind-the-scenes images from Scary Movie, which hits theaters June 5 via Paramount.
Faris and Hall are joined by fellow franchise favorites Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Dave Sheridan, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Chris Elliott, and Jon Abrahams in the legacy sequel.
The ensemble includes Damon Wayans Jr., Gregg Wayans, Kim Wayans, Benny Zielke, Cameron Scott Roberts, Heidi Gardner, Olivia Rose Keegan, Ruby Snowber, Savannah Lee Nassif, Sydney Park, Kenan Thompson, and Felissa Rose.
Michael Tiddes (A Haunted House) directs from a script by Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, original Scary Movie director Keenen Ivory Wayans, Craig Wayans (Scary Movie 2), and Rick Alvarez (A Haunted House).
The film will slash through reboots, remakes, requels, prequels, sequels, spin-offs, elevated horror, origin stories, anything with the word legacy in it, and every “final chapter” that absolutely isn’t final.
Scary Movie launched in 2000, followed by Scary Movie 2 in 2001. The Wayans’ involvement ended there, but the series continued with 2003’s Scary Movie 3, 2006’s Scary Movie 4, and 2013’s Scary Movie 5.
Regina Hall & Marlon Wayans on the set of ‘Scary Movie.’ Credit: Paramount Pictures.
Anna Faris on the set of ‘Scary Movie.’ Credit: Paramount Pictures.
Marlon Wayans & Regina Hall on the set of ‘Scary Movie.’ Credit: Paramount Pictures.
Michael Tiddes & Anna Faris on the set of ‘Scary Movie.’ Credit: Paramount Pictures.
Marlon Wayans on the set of ‘Scary Movie.’ Credit: Paramount Pictures.
Regina Hall & Anna Faris on the set of ‘Scary Movie.’ Credit: Paramount Pictures.
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