That Troll remake that excited us the other day looks like it’s becoming more and more promising. Despite being a remake, and a slightly altered storyline for the original, it looks like original creator Carl Buechler will write and direct the film and is hoping to reunite some of the original film’s cast, according to an official press release, acquired by Bloody-Disgusting. Buechler said he’d love to see Michael Moriarty, Noah Hathaway, and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss return, and apparently spoke to Anne Lockhart about the possibility.
Cast members aren’t the only thing Buechler is hoping to reunite. He’s hoping to reunite his “army” of special effects artists. “The difference is, these guys were just starting out back then, now many of them has gone on to win Emmys and Academy awards… “It’s gonna’ be just great!” The writer/director is excited over the notion that technology has caught up with his original vision, which will allow the high concept movie to really come alive on a scale with Lord of the Rings or Narnia. Those are some pretty big comparisons to make for a cult-film.
The slightly disappointing news in the press release is that Buechler wants to make this a family-friendly endeavor, while the original film was a little too frightening for smaller kiddies. This time he’s working with a larger budget in hopes of creating a film that will launch toys and an animated series.
The press release states the movie is planned for release next year, although is less solid on details about cast or a filming schedule. The notion of reuniting actors like Dreyfuss, who has definitely gone on to bigger things, bringing in award winning special effects gurus, and spinning off toys and a cartoon makes me wonder if this is more of a pipe-dream than a reality. Has a studio really looked at the original movie and seen all of this potential in a possible franchise and is willing to put up the dough? Or is Buechler talking a lot right now? I guess only time will tell.
Most interesting to me, however, is the notion that Buechler will keep the family name in tact. There’s even a disclaimer thrown into the press release: DISCLAIMER: TROLL has not been prepared, approved, or licensed by any entity that created or produced the J.K. Rowling series of Harry Potter books or the Warner Bros. series of Harry Potter movies. Movies Plus is not affiliated with J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., nor has this movie been endorsed or authorized by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros. The characters Harry Potter, Sr. and Harry Potter, Jr. are not related to or inspired by the book and film character of J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Harry Potter and his family were characters in the 1986 movie, Troll, which was independently created and distributed before J.K. Rowling’s first book.
