The Blob: producers are fighting to hold on to the remake rights

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Twelve years have gone by since producers Richard Saperstein and Brian Witten acquired the rights to remake the 1958 classic The Blob (watch it HERE) from Worldwide Entertainment Corporation and they still haven't been able to get a remake into production, so it's no surprise that they're in danger of losing the rights. But since they have sunk $418,000 into developing the project over the years, they're determined to hold on to those rights. That's why they have filed a lawsuit against Worldwide Entertainment Corporation to make sure the company, which is run by Judith Harris, the widow of The Blob producer Jack H. Harris, won't take them away.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Saperstein and Witten claim that 

Harris orally agreed to an extension and then failed to put it in writing despite multiple emails and even a $50,000 offer. And if a judge doesn’t recognize this as an oral agreement, they are falling back on the claim that COVID-19 represents a force majeure event that “prevented them from attempting to produce the Picture,  and as a result, the Extension term must be tolled through the present date.”

Rob Zombie was attached to write and direct the remake for a brief period of time, and commissioned some concept art before leaving the project. Later, Con Air director Simon West was going to be helming the film, with Samuel L. Jackson signed on to star and Halle Berry rumored to join him. That version of The Blob would have told the following story: 

When a band of miners uncover something hidden deep beneath the earth they unwittingly unleash a hideous creature beyond imagination. Now the townsfolk must fight back before it destroys everything. 

West was hired in 2015, and the last time we heard any sort of update on the project was in 2017. 

If Saperstein and Witten are able to hold on to the rights and get a remake going, this will be the second remake. The Blob previously got an excellent remake in 1988, and you can watch that film HERE.