We found out last week that a new take on Stephen King's killer dog novel, Cujo, is in the works for Netflix, and the project may have nabbed a somewhat surprising director.
According to Jeff Sneider in his latest newsletter (and since backed up by THR), Darren Aronofsky (The Whale, Noah, Pi) is in negotiations to helm the movie.
Though some would consider this the filmmaker's first foray into the horror genre, that's certainly debatable. Aronofsky has included horror elements in a number of his previous films, and many would view the likes of Mother!, Black Swan, and even Requiem for a Dream to be full-on horror movies.
King's novel focuses on a mother and her young seizer-prone son being terrorized by a huge St. Bernard who becomes a rabid killing machine after being bitten by a bat.
Cujo was previously adapted for the big screen back in 1983, with Lewis Teague directing from a screenplay by Don Carlos Dunaway and Barbara Turner. The movie stars E.T. and The Howling actress Dee Wallace as Donna Trenton and Danny Pintauro as her son, Tad, with Daniel Hugh-Kelly, Christopher Stone, Ed Lauter, Kaiulani Lee, Billy Jacoby, Mills Watson, Jerry Hardin, Sandy Ward, and Arthur Rosenberg in supporting roles.
Despite mixed review from critics, the movie was a moderate success and a fairly faithful retelling of the novel, so it'll be interesting to see how Aronofsky approaches the story. It also remains to be seen if he stays on board. Aronofsky has been attached to a number of high-profile projects over the years - including Batman, Watchmen, RoboCop and The Wolverine - before ultimately deciding to step away.
There are several other King adaptations either out now in theaters (The Monkey) or streaming (Salem's Lot), with plenty more on the way (Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck, Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk, and Edgar Wright’s currently in production The Running Man).
Would you be up for a new take on Cujo directed by Darren Aronofsky? Let us know in the comment section down below.
"In this tale of a killer canine, man's best friend turns into his worst enemy. When sweet St. Bernard Cujo is bitten by a bat, he starts behaving oddly and becomes very aggressive. As Cujo morphs into a dangerous beast, he goes on a rampage in a small town. Stay-at-home mom Donna (Dee Wallace) gets caught in Cujo's crosshairs on a fateful errand with her son, Tad (Danny Pintauro). Stuck in their tiny car, Donna and Tad have a frightening showdown with the crazed animal."