Elizabeth Banks is reuniting with her Slither director James Gunn for yet-to-be titled upcoming horror movie. This will mark mark the first time the two have worked together in 12 years, though Gunn will only be producing the film, not directing.
In 2017, it was announced that Gunn would work alongside production company The H Collective to produce the untitled film co-written by Gunn’s brother Brian Gunn and their cousin Mark Gunn. David Yarovesky (who directed The Hive in 2015) has been tasked with directing, and Gunn recently announced that Banks will star.
Plot details for the movie are sparse. The film went into pre-production last week, and principal photography is expected to begin on March 26th. In an official statement regarding Banks’ involvement in the project, Gunn said:
“Elizabeth and I have been on the same artistic page since we first met when she auditioned for Slither back in 2005. She’s since remained one of my best friends in the world, and I’ve been fighting tooth and nail to work with her again. She’s the perfect partner to Yarvo, the H Collective and myself in creating this very special project."
For the most part, both Gunn and Banks have stepped away from the horror genre (with the exception that Gunn took a break between Guardians 1 and 2 to write the 2016 horror/thriller The Belko Experiment), focusing their careers on more mainstream franchises (The Guardians of the Galaxy and The Hunger Games/Pitch Perfect, respectively). This film will mark a change of pace, as well as a return to their earlier-career roots. They worked together on Gunn’s 2006 horror/comedy Slither - a slight throwback to Fred Dekker’s 1987 film Night of the Creeps - along with Guardians of the Galaxy star Michael Rooker.
With little to go off in terms of plot, Gunn and Yarovesky’s filmography might offer up a better idea of the film’s tone at the very least. Both directors have showcased distinctly grotesque body horror in their respective horror features, with Gunn implementing over-the-top gore in Slither and Yarovesky leaning towards an Evil Dead-esque balance of psychological horror and body horror. As for The H Collective, the budding production company is producing the upcoming fourth film in the XXX franchise, a drama titled The Parts You Lose starring Aaron Paul and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and a horror film based on urban legends titled Raven Road.
Afterward Gunn will return to the MCU, while Banks will tackle yet another franchise, directing a reboot of Charlie’s Angels (Banks produced all three Pitch Perfect films, directing the first sequel). In terms of acting, she’ll be starring alongside Jamie Foxx in Signal Hill and Melissa McCarthy in the Muppet crime-comedy The Happytime Murders.
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Source: That Hashtag Show
