Vampires Are So 2009 – Welcome, Werewolves!

By Stephen M. Silverman

Originally posted Tuesday September 01, 2009 03:00 PM EDT

From left: Taylor Lautner, Lon Chaney Jr. and Benicio Del Toro Photo by: INF; Everett; Universal / Landov

Vampires, move over: Werewolves are about to claw their way to the top.

Besides the sudden sprouting of hair expected on Jacob (Taylor Lautner) come Nov. 20's release of the Twilight sequel New Moon, MTV is getting ready to howl with a TV version of the 1985 Michael J. Fox movie Teen Wolf, about a high-school kid who discovers the strange effects of a full moon, says the Hollywood Reporter.

"It has a fresh take and is very different from the original," promises the music network's senior vice-president of series development, Liz Gateley. "It has more of an American Werewolf in Paris feel to it."

That would be the 1997 horror-comedy starring Tom Everett Scott and which also owed its pedigree to director John Landis's stylish 1981 An American Werewolf in London, starring David Naughton and which, in turn, took its cues from the practically gothic 1935 Werewolf in London – which then paved the way for the classic Lon Chaney Jr. series of The Wolfman movies, starting in 1941.

Fans will forever recall what Larry Talbot (Chaney) first heard from the old gypsy woman (Maria Ouspenskaya): "Even a man who is pure at heart, and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright."

Shape-Shifters, Too

As for the proposed TV Teen Wolf, Gateley says, "It's a dramatic thriller with two best friends in the center who provide a great comedy element: They are two very relatable characters on the outer circles of popular cliques."

Sam Trammell Photo by: John P. Johnson / HBO

Only don't put away the wolfbane just yet. The next season of HBO's Sunday-night vampires series, True Blood, promises werewol ves in addition to the shape-shifter already being essayed so sexily by Sam Merlotte (actor Sam Trammell).

Then there's Universal's long-gestating remake of The Wolfman, starring Benicio del Toro and Emily Blunt but which appears to be living under a curse all its own. When last heard from, the production was set to be released next Feb. 12 – giving the horror flick its fourth release date after an original opening set for this Nov. 6, reports Variety.

Still, for the curious, EW.com offers a glimpse at the trailer. Just click here.

Cas
Volturi Captain

__._,_.___

Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic