Arachnophobia Reboot Taps Happy Death Day Director Christopher Landon

By Charlie Ridgely

Christopher Landon has become something of a household name amongst horror fans over the last few years, delivering three instantly beloved movies that have already gained dedicated followings. Happy Death Day, Happy Death Day 2U, and Freaky have resonated well with many horror fans, bringing the fun back to the slasher genre and invoking comparisons to Wes Craven's iconic Scream franchise. Now, Landon is looking to get into the remake game with a new take on Arachnophobia.

It was announced on Thursday that Landon will be writing and directing a remake of Amblin's 1990 film Arachnophobia. The original marked the directorial debut of Jurassic Park producer Frank Marshall, who will be returning to executive produce the remake with Judson Scott. Legendary horror filmmaker James Wan will be producing for his Atomic Monster banner alongside Michael Clear. Jeb Brody will oversee the film for Amblin with Lauren Abrahams and Mia Maniscalco.

As the title indicates, Arachnophobia is all about a terrifying run-in with spiders. The original horror-comedy centers around a small town that becomes overrun by deadly South American spiders that are accidentally brought into the United States. Jeff Daniels starred in the original alongside John Goodman, Julian Sands, and Harley Jane Kozak.

Arachnophobia is a horror-comedy, which makes Landon a natural fit to bring a remake to life. Most of his films have combined horror and comedy elements and earned the filmmaker rave reviews.

After the news broke on Thursday afternoon, Landon took to Twitter to share his excitement and reveal the irony of the situation. While he's a master of blending horror and comedy, he's also deathly afraid of spiders, which could make for some interesting scenarios on the set.

"I'm either the most qualified or the absolute worst person for this job since I am DEATHLY AFRAID OF SPIDERS," Landon wrote. "So excited to work with Amblin and James Wan."

At this time, there haven't been any casting announcements or indications as to when Arachnophobia might start production. More updates will likely be on the way in the not-too-distant future.

Are you looking forward to Christopher Landon's take on Arachnophobia? Let us know in the comments!

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