Babylon 5’s Straczynski to Write Forbidden Planet Movie
Forbidden Planet (Remake) Movie, Sci-Fi Movie News — By Nix on October 31, 2008
If you saw Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling” and didn’t glance at the credits, I doubt you would know that J. Michael Straczynski, creator of the sci-fi opus Babylon 5, was the screenwriter of that movie. But that’s JMS for ya — the man is an incredibly flexible writer, and he can do anything, from comic books to sci-fi TV to period dramas. But JMS is returning to a familiar world with the announcement that he’s been tapped by Warner Bros. and uber producer Joel Silver to write an updated adaptation of the sci-fi classic movie “Forbidden Planet”. Robbie the Robot, we assume, is giddy over the news.
Here’s a little of the remake’s somewhat convoluted history back to the big screen via:
Warners picked up the project on the down-low earlier this year. As late as last year, it was set up at DreamWorks with David Twohy attached to direct. Prior to that, New Line had it. James Cameron, Nelson Gidding and Stirling Silliphant have been associated with the remake over the years.
Released in 1956, “Planet” told the tale of an expedition sent from Earth to check on a colony of scientists on a far-off planet. They find two members, a man who has found alien technology that doubled his intellect, Dr. Morbius, and his daughter, both of whom have managed to survive an unseen monster roaming the planet.
The original was directed by Fred Wilcox, and starred Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis and Leslie Nielsen. And of course, Robbie the Robot. Chicks dig the robot.
1 Comment
This film must be important to JMS. He has already taken us there. In several episodes of “Babylon 5″ Zathras guided the characters down to see the “Great Machine” embedded in the planet Epsilon Eridani III. This is the planet which the Babylon station orbited. The resemblance of the “Great Machine” to the Krell Technology seen in forbidden planet is very clear.
All the key scifi films from the 50s and 60s are now being remade, e.g. War of the Worlds and The Day the Earth Stood Still – just to name two. There is no one who I would rather see undertake the remake. JMS cares deeply about his stories and the characters he creates.
Why does it need to be a remake? Why not a sequel? The Krell could be found on another planet about to take the step which destroyed them on their home planet. This way we could at least find out why the doors were that odd shape.