J.D. Dillard Is in Talks to Direct ‘The Fly’ Remake

J.D Dillard is in talks to direct the remake of The Fly.

The screenwriter, who made his directorial feature debut at Sundance 2016 with Sleight, is in negotiations to direct and co-write a remake of the classic horror flick for 20th Century Fox.

Should the deal go-ahead, he would pen the script alongside writing partner Alex Theurer, according to Deadline.

The proposed reboot would be based on David Cronenberg’s 1986 horror gore-fest which tells the story of scientist Seth Brundle who mutates into a grotesque human/fly hybrid after a teleportation experiment goes wrong and starred Jeff Goldblum as Brundle and Geena Davis.

Cronenberg’s cult classic is itself a remake of Kurt Neumann’s 1958 film which was based on a short story by George Langelaan that was published in the June 1957 issue of Playboy magazine.

The 1958 original was followed by two sequels; Return of the Fly in 1959 and Curse of the Fly in 1965.

In 1989, The Fly II followed the 1986 version but Cronenberg was not involved in the project.

Should Dillard and Theurer team up for a fresh take on The Fly it will not be the first time the pair have worked together as Dillard directed and co-wrote dramatic thriller ‘Sleight’ along with Theurer – which blended science fiction and street magic in a tale set in Los Angeles.

WWE Studios and Jason Blum’s Blumhouse acquired the title after it premiered in the Sundance Film Festival’s Next section last year.

Sleight hits cinemas on April 28 and until then, Dillard is in pre-production on Sweetheart, also for Blumhouse.

That horror/thriller, which he co-wrote with Theurer as well as Alex Hyner, is to star Dope’s Kiersey Clemons.