Ranking up there with “Ryan Coogler rebooting The X-Files” as one of the most unexpected pieces of news today is the announcement that The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman will be producing a remake of the 1956 horror film The Mole People (watch it HERE) for Universal Pictures. Deadline reports that the project was pitched by Christopher Winterbauer, director of the HBO Max Original Moonshot, who will be writing the screenplay. The news is surprising because The Mole People isn’t exactly one of the most popular titles in the Universal library.
Directed by Virgil Vogel from a screenplay written by László Görög, The Mole People told the story of three archaeologists who come upon an unusual race of albino beings who shun all forms of light and have mutant mole men as their slaves. Because of their “magical cylinders of fire” (what we know as flashlights), these archaeologists are treated like gods – until they try to liberate the mole people. Can the archaeologists escape this hollowed mountain in Asia… or will they be destroyed in a strange underground world?
The film starred John Agar, Cynthia Patrick, Hugh Beaumont, Alan Napier, Nestor Paiva, Phil Chambers, Rodd Redwing, Robin Hughes, and Frank Baxter.
Winterbauer’s take on the concept will follow a woman who travels to a town veiled in a conspiracy to rescue her grandchildren from their father. To do this, she must fight through hell in the underground tunnels where the Mole People reside.
Kirkman and Dave Alpert will be producing The Mole People through their company Skybound, while Universal executives Holly Goline, Jay Polidoro, and Matt Reilly oversee the project for the studio.
Kirkman and Universal have recently been working together to bring the Dracula comedy Renfield, which Kirkman produced and wrote the initial treatment for. That film, starring Nicolas Cage as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as the title character, is scheduled to reach theatres on April 14th.
Are you a fan of The Mole People? What do you think about Christopher Winterbauer and Robert Kirkman teaming up to bring a remake to the screen? Share your thoughts on this project by leaving a comment below.