Magica 1978 horror film about an evil puppet starring a beloved actor Anthony Hopkinswill be remade by legendary director Sam Raimi according to the producer Roy Lee. Lee recently appeared on the podcast Post mortem with Mick Garris and broke the news saying “I’ve only worked with [Sam Raimi] as a producer on films… actually… the first time I’m going to work with him as a director is on a remake of Magic. This is something we are currently working on. Anthony Hopkins movie. We actually hear the final versions of the various takes from the writers next week.
Lee then added “[Sam] I loved the original film and the book written by William Goldman.” The original film is directed by Richard Attenborough from a screenplay by Goldman, based on his own novel. The cult film starred Hopkins and Ann Margret and told the story of a ventriloquist whose murderous dummy tries to destroy his love life. The film was a moderate commercial success when it was first released in theaters in November 1978, grossing nearly $24 million against a budget of around $7 million, before gaining cult status over the years.
Raimi seems perhaps the most suitable person to helm a reimagining of the wacky 1978 horror flick Magic. Raimi started his career directing the original diabolical death and its sequel Evil Dead 2before directing other memorable genre dishes like dark man and evil Dead-after army of darkness. Raimi became even more famous when he directed 2002 Spider Man, as well as its two sequels. Raimi just realized this year Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and is currently set to direct upcoming films The Kingkiller Chronicle and world war 3.
Lee is a prolific producer who has worked on quite a few genre films throughout his career. Lee began his career as an executive producer on popular titles such as The Departed, The Ringand The Grudge. He has since been a producer of horror films The strangers, the quarantine, the uninvited, the boyand Blair Witch. After producing the 2017 hit ThisLee has been attached to some successful contemporary films, including Watcher, Barbarianand don’t worry darling. Lee is currently attached to several upcoming projects, including a remake of The Strangers, Late Night with the Devil, Salem’s Lot, The Tommyknockers, Battle Royalea Friday 13 restart, a hellraiser series, and many other titles.
A screenwriter for the next remake of Magic has yet to be announced, nor have any names of potentially attached cast members been announced. In the meantime, watch the original trailer below:
