A New Take on The Fly Is Coming From a Very Intriguing Director

A fresh reminder of the freaky results that come from tampering with nature is on the way, as Nikyatu Jusu—who made excellent 2022 folk-horror tale Nanny—is working on a new version of The Fly. According to Deadline, which broke the news, her film will be “set in the universe of [David Cronenberg’s] film,” and won’t be a straight remake. Jusu will direct and pen the script.

Deadline said the plot is “under wraps,” but if it’s based on David Cronenberg‘s 1986 classic, which won an Oscar for its ooey-gooey make-up effects, we can guess there will be plenty of body horror in store for audiences.

Cronenberg’s film also pokes into themes involving the cutthroat world of scientific discoveries and shady corporations funding out-there research, and makes great use of the chemistry between then-married leads Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis. (Say it with me: “Cheeseburger!”) Cronenberg’s The Fly was itself inspired by a pair of 1950s releases: George Langelaan’s short story, and the 1958 film starring Vincent Price.

The Fly is just the latest horror project that Jusu has taken on; as Deadline reminds us, she first spoke of expanding her 2019 short film Suicide by Sunlight, which is about Black vampires, in 2022. Also in 2022, we learned she was going to direct a Night of the Living Dead sequel—though there’s been no recent update on either project lately.

However, late last week we learned the Brad Anderson-directed Twilight of the Dead, the final George A. Romero movie in the late horror master’s zombie series, just took a big step forward by announcing Milla Jovovich and Betty Gabriel as its stars.

Deadline suggested Jusu’s The Fly is advancing thanks in part to a renewed interest in body horror—courtesy of current Demi Moore hit The Substance. What do you think of The Fly buzzing back around again?

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