Russo brothers to oversee MGM remakes, possibly another Poltergeist

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

AGBO Films, the production company headed up by Joe and Anthony Russo – the directors of CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, and the upcoming AVENGERS: ENDGAME – has made a deal with MGM that Deadline describes as a "multi-film non-exclusive creative partnership to co-develop, co-produce and co-finance a slate of projects." At the core of this deal is the chance for AGBO to scour the MGM library for properties they would like to remake – or, as Deadline puts it, they will "creatively steer the refurbishment of the classic library titles."

The first MGM properties to get AGBO updates are the heist film THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR – which will see Michael B. Jordan stepping into the lead role played by Steve McQueen and Pierce Brosnan in previous versions of the story – and the animated film THE SECRET OF NIMH, which is getting a live action / animation hybrid reboot called THE RATS OF NIMH.

The Deadline article had initially mentioned that AGBO was also interested in remaking THE PINK PANTHER, IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD, and – this is what caught our attention – the 1982 Tobe Hooper / Steven Spielberg film POLTERGEIST. However, the reference to those films was quickly removed from the article. Maybe someone involved felt that it was too early to be floating out the possibility of those remakes happening, but it was out there long enough for the internet to take notice.

POLTERGEIST was previously remade in 2015, and even though that remake (which was produced by Sam Raimi) made $95 million at the global box office it seemed to come and go without anyone having much to say about it. I still haven't even gotten around to watching it.

The Russo brothers' partners at AGBO Films are Todd Makurath, Mike Larocca, and the writers of their CAPTAIN AMERICA and AVENGERS films Christopher Markus and Steven McFeely. Markus and McFeely serve as Co-Presidents of Story at AGBO, and will work directly with MGM's Motion Pictures Group president Jonathan Glickman while leading the development of projects.

MGM's Chief Operating Officer Chris Brearton had this to say about the deal with AGBO: 

MGM is focused on partnering with Hollywood’s premiere talent to bring amazing stories to life. Our partnership with AGBO demonstrates MGM’s focus on creating alliances with today’s most innovative and premiere storytellers. Joe and Anthony’s track record speaks for itself and we look forward to working with their team to bring new and exciting projects to life on the big and small screens."

Joe Russo added: 

This deal reflects the fundamental tenets upon which AGBO was built: a storytelling driven studio designed to develop and produce a complex array of narrative in an ever-evolving landscape. Artist ownership is primary to our agenda, and we’ll be serving as partners on every film. It’s also an amazing opportunity for AGBO to work with MGM, which owns one of the greatest libraries in the world."

If AGBO does decide to pursue a new remake of POLTERGEIST, or of any other horror title in the MGM library, we'll let you know.