‘Barbarian’ director Zach Cregger is also producing the new take on the sci-fi horror movie, with a fresh script written by ‘Companion’s Drew Hancock.
(L to R) Shawn Hatosy, Laura Harris, Josh Hartnett, Clea DuVall and Elijah Wood in 1996’s ‘The Faculty’. Photo: Miramax Films.
Preview:A new take on Robert Rodriguez’ ‘The Faculty’ is in the works.Rodriguez and ‘Barbarian’s Zach Cregger are producing this remake.The original starred Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Josh Hartnett and more.Are you ready to go back to school?
No, we don’t mean the depressing return to campuses after a holiday –– Miramax is looking to revisit 1998 sci-fi thriller ‘The Faculty,’ in which a group of highschoolers discover that something is very wrong with their teachers and other staff.
The original film was directed by Robert Rodriguez, who at that point was mostly known for ‘El Mariachi,’ ‘Desperado,’ ‘Four Rooms’ and ‘From Dusk Till Dawn.’
In what is a rarity for those involved in the legacy title, Rodriguez will be an active part of the behind-the-scenes team on the remake, as Variety reports that he’s on board as producer.
But he’s not alone: Zach Cregger, who broke out big with his own genre offering, 2022’s horror thriller ‘Barbarian,’ is also producing.
Cregger is teaming up with Drew Hancock, the writer/director behind new thriller ‘Companion,’ (which Cregger produced), and Hancock will write the screenplay for the new ‘Faculty.’
We can certainly see some rich material for a new version of the story, since social media is much more rampant among highschoolers (and, er, everyone else), and that could play a big part.
Related Article: Robert and Rebecca Rodriguez Planning Female ‘Zorro’ Series at CBSWhat’s the story of ‘The Faculty’?
Robert Patrick in 1996’s ‘The Faculty’. Photo: Miramax Films.
The storyline for the original movie is a take on the tension between highschoolers and their teachers.
When some very creepy things start happening around school, the kids at Herrington High make a chilling discovery that confirms their worst suspicions: their teachers really are from another planet.
As mind-controlling parasites rapidly begin spreading from the faculty to the students’ bodies, it’s ultimately up to the few who are left, an unlikely collection of loners, leaders, nerds, and jocks to save the world from alien domination.
The original story was dreamt up by writers David Wechter and Bruce Kimmel, with the final production script crafted by ‘Scream’s Kevin Williamson.
It grossed an impressive $63.2 million and has developed a cult following in the subsequent decades.
Who appeared in the original movie?
(L to R) Shawn Hatosy, Josh Hartnett, Laura Harris, Clea DuVall and Elijah Wood in 1996’s ‘The Faculty’. Photo: Miramax Films.
The movie starred Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Josh Hartnett, Shawn Hatosy, Laura Harris, Usher Raymond, Salma Hayek, Piper Laurie, Christopher McDonald, Bebe Neuwirth, Robert Patrick, Famke Janssen, Elijah Wood and Jon Stewart in a pre-‘Daily Show’ role.
There has been no announcement yet for who might star in the new ‘Faculty,’ but we’d think those details will be arriving in the coming months.
What else is Robert Rodriguez working on?
(L to R) Pedro Pascal and Director Robert Rodriguez on the set of ‘We Can Be Heroes’. Photo: Ryan Green/Netflix © 2020.
Rodriguez, as usual, has a wealth of projects in development. He most recently directed ‘Spy Kids: Armageddon’ for Netflix, which was released in 2023.
He’s currently busy making TV series ‘El Gato,’ which focuses on Frank Guerrero, who discovers that his deceased father was the legendary, titular vigilante.
Returning to Mexico, Frank becomes embroiled in family power struggles while uncovering his father’s connections to a contemporary terror plot.
Beyond that, Rodriguez has long been developing a new version of animated series ‘The Jetsons.’
He also has a sequel to 2020 Netflix outing ‘We Can Be Heroes,’ an adaptation of the ‘Jonny Quest’ cartoons and a movie based on Frank Frazetta’s ‘Fire and Ice’ at various stages, though most of them in limbo.
And those are just the projects we know about.
Cregger, meanwhile, is following ‘Barbarian’ with ‘Weapons,’ a multistory horror movie about the disappearance of high school students in a small town.
That film, which will be out next year, stars Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong and Austin Abrams.
He’s also recently announced that he’s attached to write and direct a reboot of the ‘Resident Evil’ video game adaptations, just the latest to tackle the story of a virus that turns the population of a town (and beyond) into undead nightmares.
When will this remake of ‘The Faculty’ be in theaters?
Elijah Wood in 1996’s ‘The Faculty’. Photo: Miramax Films.
Miramax, which released the original, is backing the new one, but has yet to announce a release date for this one.
And with no director in place yet, chances are it’ll be a while before we see too much movement.
The company has been on a remake development spree of late, rooting through its extensive library (which includes movies such as ‘Chicago,’ ‘No Country for Old Men,’ ‘Scary Movie’ and ‘The English Patient’.)
While we’re doubtful that the likes of ‘No Country for Old Men’ would get remade (though little surprises us these days), a new ‘Scary Movie’ is headed our way, with the Wayans brothers returning to craft the film for Paramount. It’ll be scaring up business in cinemas next year.
Josh Hartnett in 1996’s ‘The Faculty’. Photo: Miramax Films.
List of Robert Rodriguez Movies:’El Mariachi’ (1993)’Desperado’ (1995)’From Dusk Till Dawn’ (1996)’The Faculty’ (1998)’Spy Kids’ (2001)’Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams’ (2002)’Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over’ (2003)’Once Upon a Time in Mexico’ (2003)’Sin City’ (2005)’The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl’ (2005)’Planet Terror’ (2007)’Shorts’ (2009)’Machete’ (2010)’Spy Kids: All the Time in the World’ (2011)’Machete Kills’ (2013)’Sin City: A Dame to Kill For’ (2014)’Alita: Battle Angel’ (2019)’Red 11′ (2019)’We Can Be Heroes’ (2020)’Hypnotic’ (2023)’Spy Kids: Armageddon’ (2023)Buy Robert Rodriguez Movies on Amazon
