Edgar Wright Reveals Why He Turned Down The Chance To Remake 'An American Werewolf In London'

Edgar Wright is an accomplished filmmaker that has created some acclaimed films. But besides being the writer-director behind “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz,” and most recently, “Baby Driver,” Wright is first, and probably foremost, a film fan. So, it makes sense why the director revealed he turned down the opportunity to remake a classic film.

During a recent “Shaun of the Dead” Q&A (via Discussing Film), the filmmaker was asked, obviously, if he’d be willing to make the leap back into a horror-comedy project. While he revealed he would be interested in doing a “straight horror” film down the line, Wright also dropped a tidbit that he had previously been approached by filmmaker John Landis about the possibility of remaking “An American Werewolf in London” and turned him down.

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Clarifying with Slash Film, Wright explained the situation, “It was years ago. Way before Max [Landis] came onboard. There was no script, just the idea of doing it. John, whom I love, asked me and I said it’s a perfect movie as far as I’m concerned, and I have nothing to add to it.”

While Hollywood is filled with studios attempting to remake everything under the sun, it appears that Wright isn’t the guy to call for such things. As he mentions, John Landis’ son, Max, has been attached to a remake of ‘American Werewolf’ for a while now, writing the script with an eye towards directing.

And as a matter of fact, Max Landis spoke to Slash Film, as well, to further explain what happened with his father and Wright. Apparently, while John Landis did, in fact, talk to Edgar Wright about the remake, it was more of a hypothetical, as the rights to ‘American Werewolf’ were all tangled up, so it was never anything more than a discussion.

READ MORE: John Landis Advised Max Landis Not To Remake ‘An American Werewolf In London’

That being said, if “An American Werewolf in London” is going to be remade, and it appears that it’s a foregone conclusion at this point, then Edgar Wright would be a great choice to keep the spirit of the original. Now that it is definitely not happening, fans of Wright will just have to wait and see when the filmmaker ventures back into the horror genre.