Italy’s famed Titanus studio is reviving its production side with a number of projects in development, one of which is a contemporary sequel to Dario Argento’s acclaimed 1985 supernatural thriller “Phenomena”.
Titanus was responsible for many golden era Italian films and classics from Fellini and Visconti, culminating in the latter’s 1963 lavish historical drama “The Leopard” which went way over budget.
The studio never quite recovered from that, slowing down considerably and mostly being responsible for TV efforts since the mid-1980s.
Now though, former Disney Italy marketing chief and current Titanus GM Stefano Bethlen is ramping up production activity in both new originals and revamped legacy IPs.
The biggest of those legacy titles in development is “Phenomena,” which will be “loosely based” on the cult thriller from the famed horror auteur and produced in conjunction with Los Angeles-based company The Exchange.
The plan is for the project to be “an American film with a U.S. director and U.S. and international talents”. More interesting is that it will NOT be a remake, rather it is being done as “a present-day sequel”.
Jennifer Connelly starred in Argento’s original as the daughter of a movie star who arrives in a country called Swiss Transylvania to attend an exclusive girls school where pupils are being targeted by a vicious killer.
Other projects at the new Titanus include a legacy sequel series adaptation of the 1970s Italian film franchise “Piedone” with Salvatore Esposito in talks to play the lead. There’s also the original crime series “Ludwig” based on the real story of serial killers Wolfgang Abel and Marco Furlan.
Source: Variety
