James Cameron's Next Might Be "Forbidden Planet" Remake

According to IESB, James Cameron's next feature he will be directing could be a remake of the 1956 science fiction movie, Forbidden Planet. J. Michael Stracynski, the screenwriter of this year's Changeling, has already written a script from which Cameron would possibly work. Cameron's had a long-stemming interest in reinventing Forbidden Planet since 1998.

The original movie, released in 1956, directed by Fred Wilcox, was a re-interpretation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest, where a crew of an Earth spacecraft land on the planet, Altair IV, after an expedition team has gone missing. All that remains of the expedition is a doctor, his daughter, and their loyal robot (classic sci-fi robot icon, Robby). The crew is soon targeted by a mysterious, alien menace as love blooms between the Earth ship's captain (played by Leslie Nielson) and the doctor's daughter.

Screenwriter Stracynski is very excited about the movie and is a huge fan of the original film. Stracynski posted this on his official message boards: "Once folks find out what we're actually going to do, I think they'll be most pleased. Forbidden Planet remains one of my favorite films of all time, and I wouldn't even think about doing this project if I didn't think there was a way to do it that would not in any way diminish the original . . . which is why this is the first development in years to actually get to the script stage. Everybody involved is very excited by the approach."

James Cameron's next movie, Avatar, is set for a December 18, 2009 release. Avatar will be Cameron's first narrative feature film since Titanic, released in 1997, winning 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture in 1998.