WB has been interested in a new movie version of The Twilight Zone for a few years now, but there’s been little progress made at this point. The original TV show – created in the late 1950s by Rod Serling – was an anthology series containing strange and unusual stories that would often blend fantasy, sci-fi and horror genre elements. In addition, most of the individual episodes would feature plot twists and surprises that served to highlight a subtextual theme (dealing with social/political issues and/or philosophical concerns).
Cloverfield director Matt Reeves became loosely attached to direct the new Twilight Zone movie about two years ago, before he dropped the project to go and work on the sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes instead. We have an update on the situation, with regard to who Warner Bros. and Appian Way heads Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran are looking at to guide the new journey into that dimension “between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge.”
The Wrap is reporting that Joseph Kosinski has entered talks to direct The Twilight Zone. While exact details on the plot are being kept secret for now, the site’s insiders have it on good authority that none of the previous script drafts – including the (relatively) more recent one written by Joby Harold (Edge of Tomorrow) – will be completely maintained and carried over. Instead, the project will be getting a proper overhaul, in order to tailor-fit the screenplay to Kosinski’s interests as a filmmaker.
Bear in mind, it’s difficult to say with any great certainty that Twilight Zone will be the next project that Kosinski tackles as a director. Over the past few months, the TRON: Legacy director has seemingly been getting ready to start production on a third TRON feature (after Legacy and director Steven Lisberger’s TRON) by 2014. Moreover, Kosinski’s gestating reboot of Disney’s cult sci-fi flick The Black Hole has begun to move forward again, with Prometheus co-writer Jon Spaihts having been hired to give the script a rewrite. In other words: for the time being we’ll just have to wait and see exactly which movie-in-the-making Kosinski tackles next.
Having said that, Kosinski’s recent sci-fi film Oblivion (starring Tom Cruise) invites comparisons to the original Twilight Zone TV series and subsequent renditions, with regard to how Oblivion relies upon fantastical post-apocalyptic tropes and mystery plot elements in order to tell a meaningful human story. That makes Kosinski a fitting and intriguing pick to direct a new Twilight Zone movie – even if the reboot doesn’t wind up being an anthology picture like the 1983 feature, with Kosinski just directing one segment. (Though, if that is the game plan, that might better explain why Kosinski is circling the project, despite having a lot on his plate already.)
Are you interested in seeing a new Twilight Zone movie directed by Kosinski? Or do you feel that the property is better suited for the television medium – and thus, are holding out hope that Bryan Singer gets to make his proposed new Twilight Zone TV show (after he finishes working on X-Men: Days of Future Past)?
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The Twilight Zone movie reboot is still in the early stages of development, but we’ll keep you posted as more information becomes available.
