Adam Wingard on I Saw the Devil remake & Godzilla vs Kong

July 20th 2017, 4:03pm

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

For the longest time, Adam Wingard always made the top of my "Up-and-Coming Horror Directors to Watch" list. Now I think it's safe to let Mike Flanagan have the top spot as it seems pretty solid to say Wingard has officially "made it to the big time" when he was handed the reins of GODZILLA VS KONG.

That said, I still keep my eyes out for all info Adam Wingard so it is with that in mind that I wanted to share some choice bits from a sit down he just had with Birth. Death. Movies. In the interview, Wingard talks the new GODZILLA movie, plus his DEATH NOTE adaptation for Netflix and, of course… where his planned remake of I SAW THE DEVIL currently lies…

Adam Wingard on his creative freedom on GODZILLA VS KONG:

It’s funny—the day I had my first meeting scheduled with Terry Rossio, the writer on Godzilla vs. Kong, was the day it was announced that Lord and Miller got fired, so that was kind of an eye-opening moment. I mean, you hear—especially within the industry—a lot of rumors about directors who have silently been replaced, or the movies have been reshot by other directors because the producers were unhappy with them, and things like that. But firing them was a completely different situation.

Ultimately, I don’t think it affects me that much. The most important thing when you’re making this type of film is that it’s not about pushing against authority; it’s about everybody getting on the same page. When you’re doing anything that involves a lot of money, it should not be an ‘us vs. them’ kind of thing, and as soon as you start treating it that way, it becomes that way. But as long as you’re open to ideas when they come—and sometimes they’re good and sometimes you have to push back—it’s just about being able to communicate.

Wingard on the GODZILLA VS KONG writers room:

Terry ran the writers’ room, so he’s the personification of it, and everything we’re working on is first and foremost based on the outline they created there. We’re going in very great detail through all the characters, the arcs they have, how they relate to one another, and most importantly how they relate to the monsters, and how the monsters relate to them or reflect them. We’re also going beat by beat on the outline, because I have things that I want to add.

So once again, it’s a discussion, and about feeling out how to make it as strong as possible, so that when Terry goes to write the screenplay, he has a definitive breakdown of what to include. He’s not the type of guy who wants to be handed a bunch of problems to solve, you know? He wants to be able to have a good creative flow based on an outline that works.

Wingard on moving from DEATH NOTE to GODZILLA VS KONG:

I’m just now kind of coming up for air. I might go visit the set of Godzilla: King of the Monsters soon, just to get a feel for what’s going on there, and some more first-hand experience looking at how bigger movies are made. But right now, I’m just really script-oriented.

Wingard on Netflix's DEATH NOTE:

On Death Note, which had many producers and a lot of oversight on it, I felt like I was 100 percent able to make the movie I wanted to make. The reason for that was because I was able to communicate with everybody involved, and we were all making the same film, you know? That’s the most important factor.

And finally, what everyone REALLY wants to know about; that I SAW THE DEVIL remake…

That’s up in the air right now. When Godzilla vs. Kong came up, it was kind of an offer-I-couldn’t-refuse situation, so I’ll be doing that for at least two and a half years. We’ll see what happens at the end of it.

So there you have, folks. Wingard just might return to his I SAW THE DEVIL remake after his duties on GODZILLA VS KONG wrap up two and some odd years from now. That still gives us time to convince the man otherwise.

What do YOU think of Wingard's films thus far and more specifically what do you think of his upcoming films? Make sure to let us all know on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram!

DEATH NOTE hits Netflix August 25th and GODZILLA VS KONG stomps into theaters May 22, 2020.