Rob Zombie (of White Zombie and “Hellbilly Deluxe” fame) is currently on tour, but fans are already talking about his next movie. After the original flicks “House of 1000 Corpses” and “The Devil’s Rejects”, Zombie started going down the remake road – remaking the thriller classic “Halloween” and its sequel. According to IMDB (the internet movie database), he could be going down either road with his next flick, with many fans hoping it isn’t another remake – they may be disappointed.
A remake of “The Blob” is considered as being in development according to Variety (August 2009), but the original film “Tyrannosaurus Rex” has also been announced for 2013. Will “The Blob” beat it to the box office? It doesn’t seem to be entirely clear. Zombie has been pretty tight lipped about the plot he’s envisioning for the movie. No stars or movie poster has been released, though the movie has been in production since at least 2007. The original 1958 movie was remade in 1988, but Zombie has a reportedly much different take on the slimy space invader. According to August 2009 reports, production was supposed to start the Spring of 2010, but in a recent interview (April 2010), Zombie said that while he’s on tour he concentrates on the music and cannot commit to developing a movie until he’s committed to developing it (according to DimeWars).
One thing is for sure, though, Zombie’s blob will not be a large gelatinous mass. The audiences of the 1950s may have found the idea of space invaders that look like their desserts frightening, but today’s audiences would consider such a movie a comedy, not a deviation from their lives. Zombie is quoted as saying that this will not be a horror film – it’s science fiction, but after slasher flicks and gory messes, a comically cheesy remake would be well below Zombie’s artistic level.
The movie, when it is finally made, will be done through Dimension Films, who also funded Zombie’s Halloween remake. It’s expected to be rated R and has a current estimated budget of $30 million. Rob Zombie will write, direct, and produce the flick. His co-producers are expected to include the producer of the original Blob movie, Jack H. Harris. Worldwide Entertainment Corp. and Genre Co. are also expected to be on board for production.
Zombie is reportedly writing the script while on tour, so the progress he makes will determine when production begins and when it will be available for fans to flock to the theaters for his deviation from horror.