SpectreVision, Elijah Wood’s genre production outfit behind Mandy, Daniel Isn’t Real, and Color Out of Space, has just signed an option for an English-language reboot of Coffin Joe, says ScreenDaily. The horror character was created by late Brazilian filmmaker Jose Mojica Marins.
“Initially created as the antagonist in Marins’ 1964 horror At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul and portrayed by the director himself, Coffin Joe went on to appear in nine further films and three television series as well as songs, music videos and comic books,” explains the site.
In addition to SpectreVision’s English-language remake, there are also plans for a Spanish-language reboot out of Mexico.
According to the company, Spectrevision’s film will offer “a more mainstream, accessible, updated version… faithful to Coffin Joe’s dedicated audience, yet presenting the character to wider, new audiences.”
One Eyed’s Spanish-language feature is at the script stage and being written by Mexican filmmakers Lex Ortega (México Bárbaro) and Adrian Garcia Bogliano (Here Comes The Devil, Late Phases). Ortega will direct the film, which will reimagine a Mexican history for the character.
“It makes sense to set the new stories both in the USA – where the Coffin Joe films captivated a whole generation of dedicated horror fans since the 1970s when the character ‘Ze do Caixao’ was baptised with his English name – and in Mexico, where this migration from the original Brazilian setting where cultural analogies can be drawn from the character’s original setting, yet creating a fresh approach with new possibilities for the character,” said Betina Goldman, managing director at One Eyed Films.
One Eyed has also signed a UK distribution deal for restored versions of the Coffin Joe film catalogue with Arrow Films, with a release date to be confirmed.
