Shawn Levy Will Be Hanging With Frankenstein’s Monster

Image icon
Image icon

For most of this year, it looked like "Night at the Museum" and "Real Steel" director Shawn Levy's next big project was going to be a James Cameron-produced remake of "Fantastic Voyage." Predictably, a lot of people flew off into a rage that the director of "Night at the Museum" was making a new "Fantastic Voyage." But budget and casting issues slowed down that project, which led to speculation that he might drop it and move on to another Fox remake, "Frankenstein." That's speculation no longer: Levy's on board officially. Now those people angry about Levy doing "Fantastic Voyage" can be angry about something else. You're welcome!

Variety clues us in to the specifics of this Frankenstein since there are quite a few others that were jockeying for position. It'll be written by Max Landis, son of "Blues Brothers" director John Landis, and his script (per Variety) is a "revisionist Frankenstein [that] has been described as a sci-fi take on the traditional Mary Shelley story, focusing on themes of friendship and redemption." That doesn't tell us a lot, but it does make us wonder if this version will emphasize the relationship between Dr. Frankenstein and his monster, except maybe it's set in space? Or maybe just the near-future? We have no idea, we're just making random guesses on the off chance that one of them may be half-right.

Now that this Frankenstein has a director, the next two questions are going to be who plays the good doctor and who plays the monster. For those on the fence about Levy's artistic merits -- no one can question his box office track record -- getting just the right cast will help calm down the doubters. What also could help: "Real Steel" being really good.

Fox sets Shawn Levy for Frankenstein [Variety]