Creature from the Black Lagoon remake script had rocket fights & Dr. Jekyll

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Universal has been developing a CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON remake (watch the classic HERE) off and on for decades. Writers and directors like Jack Arnold (the director of the original film), Nigel Kneale, John Carpenter, Ivan Reitman, Guillermo del Toro, Gary Ross (son of one of the original writers), Breck Eisner, Dave Kajganich, Carl Erik Rinsch, Jeff Pinkner, Will Beall, and maybe even Max Landis have all been attached to it at one point or another, and of course the Creature was part of the Dark Universe plans the studio had a few years ago (and then abandoned after the release of THE MUMMY in 2017). For some reason, none of these possible reboots/remakes have been able to make it into production, despite the CREATURE story being a very simple one: 

A scientific expedition searching for fossils along the Amazon River discovers a prehistoric Gill-Man in the legendary Black Lagoon. The explorers capture the mysterious creature, but it breaks free. The Gill-Man returns to kidnap the lovely Kay, fiancée of one in the expedition, with whom it has fallen in love. 

A lot of fans were already relieved that the Dark Universe monster reboots were shelved, and after hearing details on one of the scrapped CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON scripts I'm very glad that this one wasn't made. On a recent episode of Eric Vespe and Scott Wampler's podcast The Kingcast (one which had Bryan Fuller as the guest), Wampler revealed that he had read a recent CREATURE script: 

Wampler: I read a draft of a CREATURE remake script they had at one point that was —

Fuller: Is that the aliens one?

Wampler: Kind of yes, kind of no. There was an underwater lab – I don't think it was at the bottom of the lagoon, but I think it was somewhere nearby. There was a scene where they had to all go in and infiltrate this underwater base that had sort of gone off-kilter, and they encountered other, you know, shit in there. But the thing that really stuck out to me was that the way it ended was, there was a f*ckin' rocket launcher fight in the jungle, and the Creature's running along with the female lead. They eventually escape this rocket launcher fight and they're making their way through the jungle. They come to a clearing and a helicopter comes out of nowhere, lands, and Hyde from the Dark Universe, so this would have been Russell Crowe, steps out of the helicopter and is like, 'Come work with me in my lab, I think you have much to offer us.' The lady looks at the Creature and the Creature kind of nods, and they get on the f*ckin' helicopter and leave!"

Although Wampler called the character Hyde, I'd have to assume that Russell Crowe would have been in Jekyll mode when he asked the Creature to join him on his helicopter – but that doesn't make the thought of the Creature nodding and agreeing to take a helicopter ride to Prodigium headquarters any less ridiculous. Wampler said he would love to see something "that stupid" play out on the screen, but it sounds like we dodged a rocket on this one.

The group Prodigium was meant to be at the center of the Dark Universe films, it would have been the "organizing principle" that would connect all of the monster movies. It was  

a mysterious multi-national organization led by the enigmatic and brilliant Dr. Henry Jekyll. Prodigium's mission is to track, study and — when necessary — destroy evil embodied in the form of monsters in our world.  Working outside the aegis of any government, and with practices concealed by millennia of secrecy, Prodigium protects the public from knowledge of the evil that exists just beyond the thin membrane of civilized society… and will go to any length to contain it. 

So it sounds like that version of CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON would not have gone over well, but I still hope we will get a good new CREATURE movie someday.