Writers Shari Springer Berman (
American Splendor) and Robert Pulcini (
American Splendor) are in negotiations to rewrite and direct a remake of
Bride of Frankenstein for Universal Pictures, according to Variety.
Berman and Pulcini join the project with a mandate to re-imagine the 1935 horror pic, originally helmed by James Whale starring Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester in the title role.
Buoyed by Stephen Sommers' successful resuscitation of classic
Mummy franchise, the studio has been eager to redo
Bride of Frankenstein.
But in bringing in the "Splendor" duo, U is pursuing a different track for "Bride" than the futuristic FX-driven actioner tack taken by previous writers on the project.
Berman and Pulcini would start from scratch and script a character-driven horror pic more akin to
Rosemary's Baby. Their concept for
Bride of Frankenstein is set in contemporary Gotham, centered on a young woman attending college. After being haunted by someone else's memories, she gradually discovers that she died and was then unnaturally brought back to life.
Bride of Frankenstein will have no connection to the studio's 19th century-set
Van Helsing, due out May 7, though the Frankenstein character makes an appearance in that pic.