Freaky Director Interested in a Jekyll and Hyde Reboot

The original Universal Monsters bring with them a lot of storytelling opportunities, which is [...]

By Patrick Cavanaugh

The original Universal Monsters bring with them a lot of storytelling opportunities, which is likely why they have been reimagined in a variety of ways over the decades, with Happy Death Day and Freaky director Christopher Landon recently noting that, if he were given an opportunity to revive any of iconic movie monsters, it would be the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The original 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson has been adapted into a number of stage plays over the years and inspired other adaptations, which included films in both 1931 and 1941.

"Jekyll and Hyde. That's the one I would love to do," Landon shared with Entertainment Tonight when discussing classic monster reboots. "Look, I mean, Leigh Whannell already has the best one, he made the best one. The Invisible Man was just a total home run and I think he's gonna do the same thing with Wolf Man. So he's got that corner. But I think Jekyll and Hyde would be a lot of fun because it's just, as a concept, there's a lot to mine there and I think it's genuinely scary because I think we all kind of feel like we've got monsters inside us."

Starting back in 2017, Universal Pictures hoped to revive its iconic creatures with the Dark Universe of reboots, the first of which being The Mummy starring Tom Cruise. Sadly, that film was both a critical and financial disappointment, essentially ending the franchise before it could even take off. That film even featured the appearance of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as played by Russell Crowe, who had already been announced as starring in a planned adaptation of that concept.

The next installment of the Dark Universe was supposed to be Bride of Frankenstein, only for that project to get delayed multiple times before it was quietly scrapped. When word came that Whannell was developing a reboot of The Invisible Man, audiences were cautiously optimistic, only for his reimagining of the concept to be one of the most acclaimed horror films of this year. Following that success, he was tapped for a new take on The Wolf Man starring Ryan Gosling, while Jennifer's Body and The Invitation director Karyn Kusama was announced for a new Dracula.

Landon's latest, Freaky, is in select theaters now. Stay tuned for details on the possible future of the Universal Monsters.

Would you like to see Landon take on the characters? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

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