The moment 3D became popular there was talk in Hollywood of making a new Ring movie, with the feeling that having the creepy Samara crawling out of the screen would be very popular with audiences. However while there’s been rumours of remakes and sequels, it’s been trapped in development hell.
Now it’s got a new wind, with Deadline reporting that Before the Fall’s F. Javier Gutierrez has signed on to direct. Hopefully he’ll have more luck with the film than his predecessors and with The Crow remake, which he’s been attached to for several years but which has also had difficulty getting the greenlight.
The Ring, based on the 1998 Japanese movie Ringu, arrived in 2002 and was a decent hit, although the 2005 follow-up, The Ring Two, wasn’t quite as successful. The hope is that 3D can add new interest despite the fact it’ll be at least 10 year since the last film before a new one arrives in cinemas.
It’s not known when the new film will shoot, or if star Naomi Watts will be involved.
A remake of The Crow has been in development for several years, but it’s faced a couple of problems. The first (and perhaps most significant) is a revolving door of actors and director coming and going from the film. The other is rumblings from fans that they don’t want a do-over, feeling it couldn’t beat the original comics of the 1994 film.
The idea of remaking The Crow has had a trouble history, with the likes of Bradley Cooper, Mark Wahlberg, James McAvoy and Channing Tatum attached to star at various time, and various directors also coming and going, before F. Javier Gutierrez signed up to make the movie.
For the last few months, plans to remake The Crow have been thrown into the air after The Weinstein Company claimed they owned certain rights to the characters, meaning Relativity Media’s plan to reboot the franchise have been in jeopardy. However a couple of days ago it was announced the two sides had agreed terms that would end the legal action.