Matt Reeves to Write and Direct Film Based on 8 O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING

Matt Reeves (Let Me In) will write and direct a sci-fi film based on Ray Nelson’s short story 8 O’Clock in the Morning for Universal.  The story is about a man who wakes up and realizes that aliens are controlling our daily lives.  If that sounds a lot like the basis for John Carpenter’s They Live, that’s because it was, but Deadline reports that Reeves’ film will not be a remake of the 1988 cult classic.  Reeves explains that while Carpenter’s film was more satiric, he’s approaching the material from the emotional side, “the nightmare experience with the paranoia of Invasion of the Body Snatchers or a Roman Polanski-style film.”  I’m far more enthusiastic about this kind of approach rather than Universal taking the easy route and simply remaking They Live.

Hit the jump for more details on the project and where this leaves the potential sequel to Reeves’ Cloverfield.

Reeves says he’s planning to start work on his sci-fi script immediately with Strike Entertainment’s Eric Newman and Marc Abraham producing.

So where does this leave Cloverfield 2?  I wouldn’t bet on seeing it any time soon.  While screenwriter Drew Goddard wrapped his directing debut The Cabin in the Woods ages ago (the film remains unreleased due to MGM’s financial restructuring), producer J.J. Abrams is one of the busiest men in Hollywood.  In addition to his new TV series Alcatraz, he’s putting the finishing touches on Super 8 and then he has to go to work on Star Trek 2 this fall.  However, Cloverfield 2 isn’t completely dead as Reeves explains, “If we crack a story we all love, we’ll do it.”