New Little Shop of Horrors Reboot Coming from Roger Corman and Gremlins Director

Little Shop of Horrors looks to be getting a remake after all, with B-movie legend Roger Corman returning to his creation along with Gremlins director Joe Dante. This will be a reimagining of the story of an alien plant that attempts to take over the world, and follows the abandoned Chris Evans-starring remake that was in development but cancelled after pandemic delays.

Corman released the original version of Little Shop of Horrors in 1960 among his many low-budget offerings, and although the movie became mostly famous as the first, fleeting, movie appearance of Jack Nicholson, it also became one of Corman’s many cult classics. Corman’s movie was then developed into a musical stage show, which in turn became the 1986 Rick Moranis musical movie directed by Frank Oz and featuring the best-known version of the killer plant affectionately known as Audrey II.

While Chris Evans seemed to be hyped to star in the remake prior to the Covid pandemic, that version now seems to be out of the picture, but nothing can keep a good remake down. Now Corman will produce Little Shop of Halloween Horrors, with Dante directing, and Gremlins 2 writer Charles S. Haas penning the script. According to Deadline, the film is hoped to be the first in a new franchise of movies, but we all know how those plans can very quickly go south.

Joe Dante Returns to His Roots with Little Shop of Halloween Horror

Dante made his first steps in the movie industry alongside Corman, working on low-budget movies such as Piranha. Of course, Dante really hit his stride in the mid-1980s with the release of Gremlins, the Steven Spielberg-produced Christmas-set story of a small town besieged by murderous little creatures.

Despite that success, and other movies such as The Howling, Innerspace and Small Soldiers being well-received, Dante only made five movies through the ‘90s and 2000s, with his last directorial effort being 2014’s Burying the Ex. However, with legacy sequels being the name of the game in Hollywood right now, there have been many discussions about the possibility of Dante returning to the Gremlins franchise for a long-awaited third movie. While this has not managed to come to fruition yet, his involvement in Little Shop of Halloween Horrors could be the project that helps to push that movie into being.

Related

Why a Little Shop of Horrors Remake Should be Abandoned for a Space Sequel

While the studio may not realize it yet, a space fairing Little Shop of Horrors sequel could reinvigorate the brand for modern audiences.

For now though, fans of Corman and Dante can prepare themselves for a complete reworking of the Little Shop of Horrors premise. There are currently no other details available about the movie, but expect more news in the near future.