James Wan in talks to direct a Creature from the Black Lagoon remake for Universal.

In what would mark the first film James Wan would direct since merging his Atomic Monster banner with Blumhouse, Deadline has learned he is in early talks to potentially helm The Creature From the Black Lagoon for Atomic Monster and Universal Pictures. Wan is developing a grounded modernized retelling that leans into visceral horror while paying respect to the original classic.

The Creature From the Black Lagoon has been a high priority for Universal since the studio revamped its monster movies strategy in 2019 to focusing on filmmaker-driven projects. Given Wan’s track record in the horror genre that includes the hit Saw and The Conjuring franchises, this property falls right in his wheelhouse.