‘Arachnophobia’ Getting Reboot With James Wan Producing

The spider-centric horror-comedy Arachnophobia has left an indelible impact on anyone who has witnessed it, causing audiences to always check slippers, showers, and football helmets for hiding eight-legged creatures. The Conjuring director James Wan will produce an all-new reboot of the film.

Deadline describes the original as focusing 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.”

Neither a writer nor a director is currently attached, with this project being only one of many horror properties Wan is breathing new life into.

The director’s most recent film, Aquaman, will be hitting theaters in December, though that’s not the only DC Comics character he’ll be working with. The announcement came last month that Wan was developing a Swamp Thing TV series for DC Universe, the company’s all-new streaming platform.

The filmmaker confirmed the project on Twitter, describing, “Been developing this ‘vegetarian hero’ for awhile now 🙂 With a great team. Happy to finally share. Expect — mood, mystery, gothic romance, and swamp monsters!”

The official description for the series can be found below.

“When CDC researcher Abby Arcane returns to her childhood home of Houma, Louisiana, in order to investigate a deadly swamp-borne virus, she develops a surprising bond with scientist Alec Holland — only to have him tragically taken from her. But as powerful forces descend on Houma, intent on exploiting the swamp’s mysterious properties for their own purposes, Abby will discover that the swamp holds mystical secrets, both horrifying and wondrous — and the potential love of her life may not be dead after all.”

Wan has another reboot in the works, as he’s tackling one of author Stephen King’s most acclaimed stories to deliver audiences an update to The Tommyknockers for a 2020 release. The filmmaker will also be sticking to producing duties on the King adaptation, with a director and writer yet to be announced.

Stay tuned for details about the upcoming Arachnophobia remake. Swamp Thing is slated to debut on DC Universe in 2019.

Do you think this new film could be as effective as the original? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

[H/T Deadline]