Walking Dead Director Wants to Reboot Creature from the Black Lagoon

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Walking Dead director and Creepshow TV series creator Greg Nicotero wants to reboot Creature from the Black Lagoon with Robert Rodriguez. The last of the great original Universal movie monsters, the Creature first appeared on television’s The Colgate Comedy Hour alongside Abbott and Costello, who at the time were known for being paired with Universal monsters in comedic revivals.

That decidedly non-scary introduction alongside Bud and Lou paved the way for 1954’s Creature From the Black Lagoon, a 3D horror film that established the Gill Man as a memorable movie monster. The Creature later returned for the sequels Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us. Though that would be the end of the Gill Man’s official life on screen, his influence would resound down through the years, showing up in the works of many other filmmakers. Perhaps the most notable movie monster influenced by the Creature was Guillermo Del Toro’s creation The Amphibian Man in his Oscar-winning The Shape of Water.

Now another filmmaker who loves the Creature and his movies wants to bring the character back in a more direct way. Speaking to ComicBook.com, Creepshow TV series creator and frequent Walking Dead episode director Nicotero spoke of his desire to revive the Gill Man with a reboot film. Nicotero says he’s actually spoken about such a project with fellow director Rodriguez:
 

"I think for any creature, monster kid, Creature from the Black Lagoon is the quintessential monster movie. I think Robert Rodriguez and I always talk about like, 'Hey, man. Maybe we should co-direct a Creature from the Black Lagoon movie,' because he and I have identical tastes. We love Jaws. We love The Thing. We love Escape from New York and Blade Runner. We toy with the idea of like, 'Wouldn't it be cool if we remade Creature from the Black Lagoon?' And I know they've been trying to do it forever, but, for me, that's the quintessential Universal Monster movie."

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Nicotero’s interest in reviving the Creature via reboot is well-timed, as there is currently a drive by Universal to capitalize on its monster movie legacy with a whole slate of planned films made through their deal with Blumhouse. The latest surge in Universal monster interest was of course spurred by last year’s The Invisible Man, director Leigh Whannell’s re-imagining of the classic Claude Rains horror film. An Invisible Man sequel is indeed in the works, as is an Invisible Woman film from Elizabeth Banks. Frankenstein, Dracula and The Wolf Man are all in line for their own resurrections, as are the Bride of Frankenstein and even Dracula’s assistant Renfield.

Of course at one point Universal had planned an entire shared universe called the Dark Universe, and even produced a would-be kick-off film with The Mummy. But the Dark Universe fell apart and now the studio is committed to creating standalone projects. Whether the Creature ever becomes a focus of one of these standalone films remains to be seen, but if it happens, Nicotero and Rodriguez are clearly ready to step in and take on the project. Given both filmmakers’ known affection for genre films from many eras, they would seem ideally suited to bringing the Creature from the Black Lagoon back in a form that would thrill modern audiences while staying true to the spirit of the original. The only person arguably more suited to the task is the aforementioned Del Toro, but of course he already made his Creature from the Black Lagoon in the form of The Shape of Water, and received plenty of Oscar adulation as a result. Indeed, it might be tough to top Del Toro’s vision of a Gill Man like creature, but it’s definitely something worth exploring as Universal continues raiding its own vault in search of movie material.