John Landis's 1981 film AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON is considered by many to be one of the best werewolf movies ever made, if not the best, so I don't envy his son Max Landis as he toils away at the task of crafting a remake of it. AMERICAN WEREWOLF would be a tough act for any filmmaker to follow (just ask AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN PARIS director Anthony Waller), but the fact that this is a son setting out to remake the work of his father adds a whole other level of scrutiny.
The younger Landis seems up for the challenge, though. Max is currently working on the screenplay for his take on AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, and even seems likely to make the remake his second feature directorial effort, following the 2015 film ME HIM HER.
While making an appearance at last month's San Diego Comic-Con to promote his BBC America series Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Max Landis was asked about AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON during an interview with Kevin Smith, prompting him to give a minor update on the status of the project:
I'm gonna write it and I think I'm gonna direct it. I like the script I wrote, you know? I'm halfway through it right now, I hope it turns out great. I promise you nothing. My new gimmick as a public figure is, I promise you nothing!"
Landis's full answer covers the fact that he had once heard Universal wanted a remake of AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON to be part of the Dark Universe, and that he didn't pursue the project – he was approached about it by Robert Kirkman and David Alpert of Skybound Entertainment. He also indicates that he and his father have had several conversations about the project while he works on it.
Although he acknowledges the possibility that the remake might not happen at all, since it's a big studio project and those tend not to happen, Landis is still moving ahead with it, and there's a very good chance that we are going to see Max Landis remake John Landis's werewolf classic. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.