Wrong Turnis the latest movie to be given the remake treatment in Hollywood. Familiar IP has become a hot-ticket item in the modern landscape, both on the big and small screen, as studios look for any sort of edge in the fight for viewership. The line of thinking, which often proves to be correct, is that any form of familiarity will have a leg-up on the competition, as opposed to getting audiences on board with something totally new. Now, the long-running horror franchise is set to abandon its continuity in favor of a new take.
According to a new report, original creatorAlan McElroyis set to pen the screenplay for theWrong Turnremake, with Mike P. Nelson (The Domestics) on board to direct. Constantine Film is behind the remake. Beyond that, there are precious few details available, nor is it clear how far along the movie is in the development process. Though, the report notes that John Papsidera (Jurassic World) is on board to cast the movie, which indicates that they’re already thinking about who might star. So it could be somewhat close to a reality at this point in time.
Alan McElroy, who wroteHalloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, as well as 1997’sSpawn,Tekkenand, more recently, episodes ofThe Vampire Diaries, penned the firstWrong Turn, which was released theatrically in 2003. The horror flick, which centers on a family of cannibals in West Virginia who prey on unsuspecting victims, starred Eliza Dushku, Jeremy Sisto and Emmanuelle Chriqui. It went on to be modestly successful at the box office, grossing just shy of $30 million worldwide. But at the time, the home video market for horror movies was larger than it is now, which factored into its success.
Since then, the franchise has blossomedto include five direct to home video sequels, including 2014’s Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort. All of the movies feature the cannibal Three Finger. It’s unclear if this new take will also feature the low-key horror icon, but the remake is described as a “topical meditation on society and its issues” that sees a hiking expedition wind up amongst an inclusive society that operates under a unique rule of law. Spoiler alert; they probably eat people. Producer Robert Kulzer of Constantine Film had this to say about the project in a statement.
“Alan’s re-interpretation of his own work and Mike’s vision are afrightening reflection of our world today: one person’s American dream is another’s worst nightmare.”
Not only areremakes all the rage right now, but marquee studio horror is having itself a moment and, depending on how this turns out, it could benefit from both trends. Or it could just be a cash grab. It’s far too early to say. At the present time, theWrong Turnremake doesn’t yet have a release date. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as more details on the project are made available. This was first reported byDeadline.
