Exclusive: The Birds Remake In Development, Scarlett Johansson Eyed For Lead
Hollywood is known for its constant remakes and reboots, which have been stretching further into the past with some of the most iconic movies now being targeted as remakes. Through our trusted and proven sources, we can report that the classic Alfred Hitchcock horror, The Birds, is next in line going to be remade, with Scarlett Johansson eyed for the lead role. Universal is the studio that is set to remake this classic thriller, and we would imagine that we might be seeing a whole different level of birds in this remake.
The Birds was initially released in 1963 and starred Tippi Hedren as Melanie Anderson in the lead role, which is the one that Scarlett Johansson will be taking on in this proposed remake. The Hitchcock classic follows Melanie Anderson, as she meets a man named Mitch Brenner in a pet store for birds. Melanie and Mitch flirt with one another, leaving Melanie to buy love birds for Mitch and drive to his family’s farm in Bodega Bay, California so that she can leave him the gift.
However, Melanie begins to get attacked by birds in Bodega Bay, starting with a seagull that gives her a wound on her head. The bird attacks only heighten as the locals of the town start to get attacked by ravenous birds, which include seagulls and crows. We are not sure what kind of birds The Birds remake will incorporate, but we would imagine Scarlett Johansson is going to be tortured with far more exotic birds.
The Birds was nominated for Best Special Effects, considering how “life-like” the bird attacks looked back in 1963, which we can imagine is going to look far more frightening for Scarlett Johansson. There was some drama when filming the initial movie, as Tippi Henderson complained of the abuse she was given by Alfred Hitchcock and wanted to quit when one of the birds used in the movie bit her. We would imagine that the birds in the remake might all be CGI-based, so Johansson will not have to worry about such a thing.
Universal remaking The Birds with Scarlett Johansson in the lead role is quite interesting, as it appears the studio is now bringing back its horror roots, in a sense. We had previously reported that Universal is also working on a reboot of The Mummy, which would reignite its proposed and failed Dark Universe, which was meant to bring back the classic Universal Monsters. Hopefully, we are going to get more of the Brendan Fraser-led Mummy movie and not the Tom Cruise variation.
The Birds remake with Scarlett Johansson could be Universal starting a new wave of horror and thriller movies, much like they used to dominate in past years. We wouldn’t agree that many of Alfred Hitchcock’s movies should be remade, but it would be amazing to see a new version of terrifying birds flying around and maiming people. We could even be seeing some gigantic birds that have been exposed to some sort of radiation, but we would imagine the remake isn’t going to bring in science fiction elements.
