Tim Burton and Gone Girl writer Gillian Flynn are joining forces for a reimagining of the 1958 independent sci-fi classic, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.
According to Deadline, Burton will take on the role of director, while Flynn will be responsible for crafting the screenplay. The original black-and-white film featured Allison Hayes as Nancy Fowler Archer, a wealthy heiress whose encounter with an alien, aboard a classic metal spaceship, transforms her into a giantess.
This cult classic was part of a wave of sci-fi films centered around giant humans, alongside titles like The Amazing Colossal Man and War of the Colossal Beast.
Burton, known for his unique directorial style, is deemed an ideal choice for this project. His previous venture into ’50s sci-fi classics includes the 1996 film Mars Attacks! Despite its initial box office underperformance, the movie has earned its place in pop culture history as a cult classic.
Burton directed the 2001 film Planet of the Apes, the sixth installment in the franchise, grossing over $362.2 million globally. In 1994, he directed Ed Wood, a biopic about the cult film director responsible for the 1957 film Plan 9 from Outer Space, initially considered one of the worst films before gaining recognition from film scholars and cult film enthusiasts.
Flynn, acclaimed for adapting her own novel Gone Girl for David Fincher’s feature film and turning another novel, Sharp Objects, into an Emmy-nominated HBO limited series, will bring her storytelling prowess to this project. She is also set to adapt her popular novel Dark Places for HBO, where she will serve as co-showrunner and head writer.
