Nikyatu Jusu Enters the World of Cronenberg’s ‘The Fly’ With New Movie Set in the 1986 Film’s Universe

In addition to a new take on Romero’s Night of the Living Dead that’s coming soon from MGM, Nikyatu Jusu (Nanny) is also venturing into the world of David Cronenberg’s The Fly.

Deadline reports this afternoon that Nikyatu Jusu’s upcoming installment in the body horror franchise is “based on David Cronenberg’s masterwork,” being positioned not as a remake of Cronenberg’s memorable upgrade of the ’50s movie but rather a new movie that’s set in the universe of the 1986 body horror masterpiece that starred Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis.

Deadline details, “While the film’s plot is under wraps, sources stressed that it’s set in the universe of Cronenberg’s film, rather than a straightforward remake.”

Jusu is writing and directing the film for 20th Century Studios and Chernin Entertainment. Chernin Entertainment’s Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping are producing the new movie.

David Cronenberg’s The Fly (1986) was a remake of the same-titled Vincent Price horror classic from 1958, both movies based on a 1957 short story written by George Langelaan.

The Fly tells of an eccentric scientist (played by Jeff Goldblum in Cronenberg’s movie), who, after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong, slowly turns into a fly-hybrid creature.

Cronenberg’s The Fly was followed by sequel The Fly II in 1989, directed by Chris Walas.

Both movies leaned heavily on the practical effects that set 1980s horror movies apart from the frights of previous decades, so here’s hoping Jusu’s film continues that goopy tradition.

Stay tuned for more from The Fly Cinematic Universe as we learn it.