“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” remake in works at Warner Bros.

PanARMENIAN.Net - Warner Bros. has launched a remake of the classic science-fiction movie “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and set the project up with producer John Davis, Variety said.

“The Conjuring 2” screenwriter David Leslie Johnson has been tapped to write the script.

The original 1956 movie is based on Jack Finney’s 1954 novel “The Body Snatchers” in which the small California town of Mill Valley is invaded by aliens plant pods, which replicate humans as they sleep. The resulting replicants have no emotion.

The movie, set in the fictional California town of Santa Mira and shot in less than three weeks in black and white in Sierra Madre, Glendale, Chatsworth and Los Felix, ended with the aliens taking over. It was produced by Walter Wanger, directed by Don Siegel and starred Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter.

“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” grossed $3 million in its initial release and grew in critical stature to the point that it was selected in 1994 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

The film has been remade three times: in 1978 with Donald Sutherland starring and Philip Kaufman directing; in 1993 as “Body Snatchers” with Gabrielle Anwar starring and Abel Ferrara directing; and in 2007 as “The Invasion” with Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman starring and Oliver Hirschbiegel directing.

Davis has feature film producing credits dating back to 1987’s “Predator” and including “Chronicle,” “Joy,” “I Robot,” “Grumpy Old Men” and the upcoming “The Predator.” Johnson’s credits include “Orphan,” “Wrath of the Titans,” “Red Riding Hood” and the upcoming “The Conjuring 3.”

The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.