Arachnophobia Reboot Director Offers Update on the Project

A new take on the 1990 horror movie Arachnophobia has been in the works for years, with last year seeing the official announcement that Happy Death Day and Freaky director Christopher Landon had been tapped to helm the picture. Landon recently revealed that he hopes the project is the next of his to move forward, noting that he has even met with a “spider wrangler” to help prepare for the experience, so while casting seemingly hasn’t kicked off yet, it sounds as though he’s close enough to potentially start shooting later this year. Landon’s latest film, We Have a Ghost, is out now on Netflix.

“I’m hoping it should be my next film. We’re getting super close. The script’s done,” Landon recalled to DiscussingFilm. “I’ve been working on that for a while now. So now it’s just really about getting it together. I met a spider wrangler the other day, so that’s a good sign!”

The original film focuses on a species of South American killer spider that crosses the U.S. border in a coffin. It breeds and becomes a massive killer. Jeff Daniels and John Goodman starred in the original, in which a few brave souls try to track down the queen before the hybrid breed can take hold.

A key component of the success of the original film was its use of real spiders to create unsettling sequences. In subsequent years, horror films would begin to embrace more complex visual effects, with the industry’s overall embrace of CGI both making a new take on the material seem more like an inevitability, though fans have also been apprehensive that replacing real spiders with CG creations could undercut the effectiveness of the story. 

Given that all audiences have at least somewhat of a fear of creepy crawlies, the many scenes in the film in which spiders invade the most innocuous of settings sent chills down viewers’ spines. Landon himself added that his fear of spiders could either pose challenges or opportunities.

When asked if he’s scared of spiders himself, Landon recalled, “Terrified. So like I’ve said, I’m either the most qualified or the least qualified person to do this movie.”

Stay tuned for details on the new take on Arachnophobia.

Are you looking forward to the reboot? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!