Michael Giacchino will make his feature directorial debut with a remake of the 1954 horror movie about giant ants.
Warner Bros.
A Them! remake is in the works at Warner Bros. with Michael Giacchino on board to direct, per Deadline. The project will mark the feature directorial debut for Giacchino, who has previously found success elsewhere in film by winning an Oscar as the composer for Up. More recently, Giacchino directed Marvel’s Halloween special Werewolf by Night for Disney+. The special garnered acclaim from critics and fans, likely playing a big part in why he got the job of directing the new Them! movie.
“Michael Giacchino is a unique talent,” Warner Bros. Pictures President of Production and Development, Jesse Ehrman, said in a statement. “We’re excited to be working with him and have him at the studio.”
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Teasing his vision for the film, Giacchino adds, “There’s always a movie in your mind that never leaves your head. For me, that’s Them! It wasn’t until much later in life until I learned what it was about — the nuclear age.”
“What I love about Them! is exactly what it’s called: Them!,” he goes on to explain. “It’s about the other, the unknown which one refuses or can’t understand. The current version of Them! is about immigration, and to tell a story about the subject through a lens of this insane science fiction monster movie.”
Giacchino will also serve as composer for his Them! remake, simlar to how he also scored Werewolf by Night and other projects he’s worked on. Anthony Giacchino, who directed the tie-in Disney+ documentary Director by Night, is also planned to somehow be involved with the production. Giacchino is currently meeting with writers to help flesh out the vision he has to adapt Them! for 2023.
Related: Underrated Horror Movies of the 1950s, Ranked
Them! Is Getting Remade
One of the classic sci-fi monster movies of the early 1950s, Them! was directed by Gordon Douglas and starred James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, and James Arness. It’s also worth noting Leonard Nimoy appears in a small but memorable role. The film tells the story of gigantic, irradiated ants emerging as a new threat in the United States, leaving it up to the humans to try and find a way to stop the gargantuan bugs. The film was nominated for an Oscar for its special effects and remains one of classic horror’s most memorable movies.
The film was in part an inspiration for Giacchino’s work on Werewolf by Night, showing the influence it still has on filmmakers of today. On Twitter, Giacchino shared the news, and when one fan asked if that was one of his influences, Giacchino responded, “Yessir! Among others!”
The Them! remake doesn’t yet have a release date.
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