‘Cujo’: Darren Aronofsky In The Mix To Direct Remake Of Stephen King’s Monsterous Cainie Flick At Netflix

Streaming giant Netflix is behind a new remake of the dog-centric horror flick “Cujo” based on the 1981 Stephen King novel and has quite an ambitious director circling the feature film project.

A report from TheInSneider backed up by The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (“The Whale”) is being courted to helm the horror pic that was previously adapted for the big screen in 1983 and featured a lovely St. Bernard (notably not often considered a vicious breed) dog that terrorizes a family after being bitten by a bat.

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It was also mentioned that producer Roy Lee is behind the remake, after developing other King adaptations like the two “IT” movies helmed by Andy Muschietti, the vampire flick “Salem’s Lot,” and the upcoming dystopian thriller “The Long Walk.”

The synopsis for the original film directed by Lewis Teague:

Evil bites when a monstrous canine terrorizes a helpless family in this legendary cult classic. Based on Stephen King’s best-selling novel, “Cujo” gives horror a new name. While Donna (Dee Wallace) and Vic Trenton struggle to save their rocky marriage, their son Tad befriends the loveable St. Bernard who belongs to their mechanic. But what they don’t realize is that a bat bite has transformed Cujo from a docile pup to a vicious killer. With Vic away on business, Donna and Tad’s car trouble pushes them into a living nightmare — trapped by the demonic, relentless dog from hell. This critically acclaimed thriller promises to have you glued to your seat and foaming at the mouth!

Aronosky’s most recent work consists of the new crime pic “Caught Stealing” (starring Austin Butler and Zoe Kravitz) coming to theaters on August 29 and the Oscar-winning drama “The Whale,” which led to Brendan Fraser‘s Best Actor win back in 2023.

While we don’t automatically think of Aronofsky as a horror director, per se, films like “Requiem For A Dream,” “Pi,” “The Fountain,” and “Noah” all certainly feature strong elements seen in the genre. “Black Swan” and “Mother!” would be closer to what many would consider to be traditional horror thrillers.

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We’re still waiting on confirmation from Netflix that Aronofsky has officially signed on, a cast, and who will be adapting the novel for a new script. Stay tuned as King adaptations tend to end up attracting high-profile talent as illustrated with Aronofsky’s potential involvement that might see him working more often with Netflix.