Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. and producer John Davis are mounting another remake of the 1956 classic INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, hiring go-to scribe David Leslie Johnson to write the script, the Tracking Board has confirmed.

Based on Jack Finney’s 1954 sci-fi novel The Body Snatchers, the story is set in a small town where aliens harvest “pod people,” copies of local residents that show no emotion. When a doctor discovers what’s happening, he sets out to stop the alien invasion from spreading, though it’s unclear who’s an alien, and who’s a real human being.

The Body Snatchers was initially adapted for the big screen in 1956 before being remade in 1978. Both films were a hit with critics and audiences, though The Invasion, WB’s 2007 attempt starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, didn’t fare nearly as well.

There’s no word on what direction the new movie will take, but the material lends itself toward political allegory, and the right director could have a field day with this time-tested property.

Johnson is one of the studio’s most trusted genre writers, having penned Orphan, Wrath of the Titans, Red Riding Hood and The Conjuring 2, as well as its upcoming sequel. He’s represented by Paradigm, and his hiring was first reported by Deadline.

Jeff Sneider | Editor in Chief