THR reports that Robert Pattinson is teaming up with Smile director Parker Finn for a remake of Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession.
The original 1981 film stars Sam Neill as an international spy who returns home to find that his wife (Isabelle Adjani) wants a divorce. Throw in infidelity, murder, abuse, and a bizarre tentacle creature, and you’ve got the makings of one hell of a movie. Possession is not to everyone’s taste and critics didn’t know what to make of it upon its initial release, but it has developed quite a cult following over the decades.
It’s still early days, but Parker Finn will write and direct the Possession remake. Robert Pattinson is set to produce through his Icki Eneo Arlo production company, but THR’s report states that “his acting involvement will be clarified down the road as script and schedules develop.” One would imagine him taking on Sam Neill’s role. A bidding war for the project has broken out, with A24, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, and Warner Bros. all said to be taking part. Executives are reportedly thrilled with the “batshit” and “out there” story and also believe the project has “strong commercial potential.” I don’t know if I would say that about the original movie.
Finn is currently in post-production on Smile 2, which finds Kyle Gallner reprising his role from the first movie. Naomi Scott, Lukas Cage, and Rosemarie DeWitt are also set to appear in the sequel. We don’t know too much about the project, but a teaser was screened at CinemaCon in Las Vegas earlier this year. Our own Lance Vlcek attended the convention and said that Scott plays a Taylor Swift-type mega-star artist who gets sucked into the curse. In true sequel fashion, everything looks bigger and slicker. The film is currently slated to hit theaters on October 18th.
Finn has previously said that he feels there’s a lot of interesting stuff left to explore in the world of Smile. “I would never want to just repeat myself or retread the same ground,” Finn said. “I’d want to make sure that there’s a new, exciting, fresh way into it that the audience isn’t anticipating. I also want to find some new ways to scare them and unnerve them. But as far as how it may connect to the first one, I’d want that to be surprising as well.“
What do you think of this Possession remake?