Another return from “retirement” has led to more success for Steven Soderbergh. With Logan Lucky getting positive reception during its current cinematic run and with plenty of other projects under way such as Mosaic for HBO and the iPhone-filmed Unsane, the director may consider retiring more often.
However one film that isn’t the pipeline for Soderbergh but could have been, had the chips fallen right is a remake of Matango, Ishiro Honda‘s classic 1963 Japanese horror film. Soderbergh told Little White Lies:
“I wanted to remake that. [But] I couldn’t come to terms with the studio. It was a movie I saw as a kid and it scared the shit out of me. I wanted to remake it but I couldn’t figure out a deal with Toho, so it didn’t happen”.
While we should be grateful for every Soderbergh film we get considering his constant threats to walk away from the directors chair for good, this is a project that will be lamented by cinephiles everywhere.
The original film focuses on a group of castaways on a deserted island who fall under the spell of the narcotic-like mushrooms that grow there, resulting in gross mutations among the group. It was never released theatrically in the United States but has developed a cult following over the years.
Soderbergh last tackled something horrific in 2011’s Contagion, but a Matango remake would have been something else to behold. Unfortunately, unless Logan Lucky‘s success gets a studio itching to bring him on board for another project, it looks as if his Matango remake will only exist in Soderbergh’s mind.
#Peace.Love.Matango
