Tim Burton is officially directing a remake of Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman, which could break an underwhelming streak surrounding his sci-fi movies. Nathan H. Juran’s 1958 original movie was just over an hour long and followed a wealthy woman named Nancy who sought revenge on her cheating husband after she transformed into a giant following an alien encounter. The bizarre sci-fi horror ended up becoming a cult classic and spawned a remake starring Daryl Hannah in 1993 titled Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman. This version, which also starred Daniel Baldwin as the husband, skipped the theatrical release and aired straight to HBO.
Over 30 years later, Burton is set to direct an Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman remake. However, before then, Burton’s resurgence will continue through several other 2024 and 2025 projects. September will see the arrival of the highly-anticipated sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, with Burton back as director. The master of the macabre is also returning as a director and producer for Wednesday season 2 after helping shape the successful first installment of the Netflix series. Granted, Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman will give Burton a chance at breaking a genre trend.
Tim Burton’s Sci-Fi Movies Have Been Mixed (At Best)
Tim Burton has certainly emerged as one of the most entertaining filmmakers when it comes to horror-leaning storylines and eccentric characters. While those aspects often fall in line with the sci-fi genre, Burton hasn’t had the best history when it comes to his own science-fiction movies. 1996’s Mars Attacks! was the filmmaker’s first foray into the genre, but it turned out to be a disappointment at the box office and received a mixed reception from critics. If Mars Attacks! was considered middling, Burton’s Planet of the Apes was a sci-fi failure.
Despite earning $362 million at the worldwide box office (via Box Office Mojo), the Mark Wahlberg-led Planet of the Apes movie received overwhelmingly poor reviews. Rather than build on the franchise, sequels of Burton’s project were scrapped before the franchise was rebooted with Rise of the Planet of the Apes a decade later. Though Burton wasn’t involved, around that time, he created Frankenweenie, which is arguably still his best sci-fi movie to date despite the fact that the animated movie only relied on limited genre elements.
Tim Burton’s Planet Of The Apes Wasn’t Good, But It Deserved A Sequel
The 2001 version of Planet of the Apes by Tim Burton wasn’t a good movie by most standards, but the ending alone made it worthy of a sequel.
Why Tim Burton’s Attack Of The Fifty Foot Woman Remake Could Be Great
After being at the helm of feature films for nearly 30 years, Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman can finally become Tim Burton’s career sci-fi highlight, breaking the streak of debatable past projects in the genre. The premise of a vengeful giantess and the inclusion of alien spacecraft is the kind of subject matter that would be right up Burton’s alley. Based on Burton’s efforts in focusing on more practical effects with current projects, the details suggest that the upcoming remake could use the original’s cult status as a way to propel a remake through Burton’s stylistic approach.
Not only will Burton take Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman‘s most thrilling aspects and make it his own, he’s doing it alongside Gillian Flynn, who is a great writer. Aside from her work as an acclaimed author, Flynn has worked as a writer on several of her book adaptations, including Gone Girl, Sharp Objects, and Dark Places. While Burton can inject his own creative vision into the retro sci-fi tale, Flynn can help keep the feminist themes intact by also interweaving modern relevance into the story. Based on Burton’s frequent actor collaborators, there’s also a chance notable names would be scrambling to join the remake.
Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman Remake
- Director
- Tim Burton
- Writers
- Gillian Flynn
- Distributor(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
