Scarlett Johannson Wanted For Horror Remake

Universal’s plans for a new monster movie universe are in motion - and it seems they have their eye on an actress who knows a thing or two about shared movie universes for one of their flagship titles.

According to The Tracking Board, the studio want Scarlett Johannson to star in their upcoming remake of ‘The Creature From The Black Lagoon,’ the 1954 sci-fi horror classic that is generally classed as the last of the great Universal monster movies, following on from the Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolf Man and Mummy films of the ‘30s and ‘40s.

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I think we can safely assume Universal would want Johansson not for the role of the amphibious Creature himself (also known as the Gill-Man), but as Kay Lawrence, the one female member of a scientific expedition which heads out into the unexplored jungle lagoon in search of the missing link between fish and man.

Julia Adams played Kay in the original, famously catching the eye of the lonely Gill-Man (and audiences worldwide) in a white one-piece bathing suit - and it doesn’t seem unreasonable to suggest that at least part of why the Black Widow actress is reportedly being courted for the remake is how good she would undoubtedly look in a similar costume.

Please, no jokes about whether ‘creepy’ John Travolta might play the Gill-Man…

Then again, this is to assume that the remake would stay close to the structure and content of director Jack Arnold’s original film, when in all likelihood it might change a great deal, particularly given how many new treatments will have been written over the years.

After all, a remake of ‘The Creature From The Black Lagoon’ is thought to have been on the back-burner at Universal for decades, with such esteemed genre directors as John Carpenter and Guillermo del Toro having been attached at different times. Most recently ‘The Crazies’ director Breck Eisner was attached.

It would seem the Gill-Man’s failure to re-emerge is down primarily to Universal’s difficulties in re-launching their monster movie brand, first with the failure of 2004′s ‘Van Helsing’ (which allegedly the Gill-Man was at one point intended to appear in), then 2010′s ‘The Wolfman.’

However, following the comparative box office success of 2014′s ‘Dracula Untold’ - whose modern day epilogue hinted at more monster action ahead - it seems the Universal monsters are finally back in business, and set to follow a Marvel-esque model of overlapping films.

Next up for Universal is the latest reboot of ‘The Mummy,’ from writer-turned-director Alex Kurtzman, due in cinemas on 24 June 2016.

No release date or director has been confirmed yet set for ‘The Creature From The Black Lagoon,’ though reportedly it will be produced by Gary Ross, Robin Bissell, Marc Abraham and Eric Newman, with a screenplay from Ross, Jeff Blitz, Tedi Sarafian and Paul Schering.

As for that other notable cinematic universe Scarlett Johannson is associated with - its next installment, ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron,’ hits UK cinemas on 23 April.

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Picture Credit: WENN, Universal