It’s been quite a while since we’ve visited the ‘Island Of Doctor Moreau’, though that’s probably for a good reason. The 1996 film was often considered the worst film that Marlon Brando (‘Superman’) had ever starred in. It wasn’t the best work by Val Kilmer (‘Willow’) either, with ‘Batman Forever‘ having a higher ranking. That really should say a lot.
But, out with the old news and in with the new.
It looks as if Appian Way and Warner Brothers have teamed up and are looking to revisit the island. They have already signed on writing team Lee Shipman & Brian McGreevy (both of ‘Hemlock Grove‘ and the upcoming ‘Zorro Reborn’) to write a new re-imaging of the classic novel by H.G. Wells and give it a bit of a twist. What kind of a twist you may ask? They plan on making it a science fiction film with a topical ecological message.
I feel the ecological message might be a bit out of place unless it’s somehow involved in why Dr. Moreau’s is making his creations.
The novel follows a man named Edward who ends up shipwrecked on Dr. Moreau’s island in the Pacific. The doctor is using vivisection and a new brand of science to attempt to turn animals into humans. He apparently is succeeding as well until some of the creatures start to revert back to their natural state and all Hell breaks loose.
The original novel was penned in 1896 by Wells and has spawned 3 different iterations on screen. While the first 2 (released in 1932 and 1977 respectively) were well received, the last one was not. It was so bad I can’t even say it was fun to watch in that train wreck kind of a way. It was just painful.
I’ve been pretty torn on remakes. The vast majority of them are either not necessary or are being put together too soon. As this will probably be released 20 years after the last iteration, which was almost unwatchable, I really feel this has the potential to be something good. All I know is that I’d love to see a CGI Marlon Brando in there somewhere. That clearly won’t happen but since it ranks as his worst strangest appearance on screen of all time, I think it’d be great if they found a way to reference it!
Are you looking for a new take about the ‘Island of Doctor Moreau’? Hoping to see another round of half human half animal hybrids? Let us know!
Source: Deadline
