Anders Engstrom to direct remake of 1980 horror film The Changeling

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

We've been sharing news on a potential remake of director Peter Medak's 1980 horror film THE CHANGELING (check it out HERE) every now and then for several years. Back in 2014, Jeremy Lovering was attached to write and direct the film, and in 2018 it was announced that Mark Steven Johnson had signed on to write and direct a version of THE CHANGELING that would move the setting from Seattle to Venice, Italy.

Now the remake has a new director, Anders Engström, and a screenplay has been written by Tab Murphy. 

Starring George C. Scott, the original film had the following synopsis: 

Composer John Russell is vacationing with his family when a car accident kills his wife and daughter. Distraught with grief, Russell leaves his home in New York City for a giant, secluded house near Seattle. Soon Russell starts to feel the presence of a ghost, a boy who drowned in the bathtub there. Russell seeks the assistance of Claire Norman, who led him to the house initially, in uncovering the secrets of the boy's death.

Deadline hears that Murphy's script adds in "several new twists and turns".

The original film's producer Joel Michaels is producing the remake alongside Uwe Schott and Stefan Arndt of X-Filme. The project is set up at Cornerstone Films, with the company's Alison Thompson and Mark Gooder serving as executive producers.

Michaels had this to say about it: 

I am overjoyed at having the unique opportunity to reimagine an updated version of the iconic film The Changeling that I produced so many years ago. It’s flattering to know that it proved to have inspired a rash of filmmakers that paid homage to the original film. I am excited to be working with Anders Engström who will bring his own contemporary vision to the film."

The remake will be filmed in Ireland.

Engström has thirty years of credits to his name and has primarily worked in television up to this point. His most recent credits include episodes of Amazon's Hanna and FX's Taboo.