Sam Raimi to direct remake of Anthony Hopkins horror ‘Magic’
Horror aficionado Sam Raimi is set to direct a remake of a forgotten horror gem, setting his sights on re-imagining the 1978 genre flick, Magic.
The original film, directed by Richard Attenborough of Jurassic Park, stars Anthony Hopkins and tells the story of a ventriloquist who finds himself at the mercy of his vicious dummy, all whilst he tries to spark a new romance between him and his childhood sweetheart. Celebrated in niche corners of the horror genre, the film is an eerie horror drama that co-stars Ann-Margret, Ed Lauter and Burgess Meredith.
The news comes from producer Roy Lee, who recently appeared on the podcast Post Mortem with Mick Garris, revealing the news by stating: “I’ve only worked with [Sam Raimi] as a producer on films… actually… the first time I’m gonna work with him as a director is on a remake of Magic. Which is something that we’re working on now. The Anthony Hopkins movie. We’re just actually hearing the final versions of the different takes from writers next week”.
Continuing, Lee added: “[Sam] loved the original movie and the book written by William Goldman”.
Having started his career in the horror genre, releasing the beloved movie The Evil Dead in 1981 to much fanfare, Raimi now rarely works in the genre. His past two feature films have instead stayed in the realms of family-friendly Hollywood flicks, with the director most recently joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and before that, he released Oz the Great and Powerful in 2013.
Take a look at the trailer for Magic below, starring Anthony Hopkins and a terrifying antique puppet.
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