Lionsgate is putting together a remake of Vincenzo Natali's 1997 sci-fi horror film, Cube, under the working title Cubed. Jon Spaihts (Prometheus) and Roy Lee (Rings, Bates Motel) will produce, with newcomer Saman Kesh set to reimagine Natali's film and direct. Kesh is best known for his short film Controller, which recently caught the eye of studio execs. Per THR, Cubed will build on the set up of the original film and is described as "a sci-fi survival thriller about artificial intelligence, humanity and the birth of a new 'digital' race."
Natali's film followed a group of strangers who awake in a, well, cube to find that the room is rigged with a deadly trap. Each wall contains a hatch that leads to other cubes, differentiated only by the color of the walls, where yet more traps lie in wait to kill them. Some traps triggered by weight, some by motion, heat or other factors, the group must work together to figure out how to disarm them one by one and find a way out of the trap.
It was a simple, low-budget horror film with a great concept. And it worked. Subsequent films, Cube 2: Hypercube and Cube Zero further expanded the universe, exploring the puppetmasters in charge of the cubes and the mysterious corporation-like entity that created them. While the follow-ups didn't reach the cult status of the first film, they were entertaining in their own right and I was always fascinated to learn more about the mystery behind the cube.
I've wanted a Cube remake for years. The under-the-radar franchise built up a world it never quite fulfilled and holds plenty ideas that are ripe for redevelopment. Hopefully, the Cube remake can capture the elegant simplicity of the first film while delving into the fascinating society behind The Cube a bit more.
Check out Kesh's short film, Controller, below. Video via Vimeo.
CONTROLLER (控制者) from Saman Kesh on Vimeo.
It's clear from the short film why Kesh is a good pick as director despite being an unknown. He has a sharp visual style that matches the hi-tech elements of Cube's concept, and in only eight minutes, does a great job of world building and intrigue. He also knows how to have fun with the technological elements, so I'm eager to see what traps he devises for Cubed and how he plays with the mechanism of The Cube itself.
Producer Jon Spaihts is best known for penning Prometheus and Marvel's upcoming Doctor Strange, and most recently, the in-development Chris Pratt-Jennifer Lawrence thriller Passengers. Roy Lee, is known for introducing American audiences to Asian horror with remakes of The Ring and The Grudge, among many others. Most recently he produced The Lego Movie and How to Train Your Dragon 2. Lee is a very busy man. We recently announced that he's putting together a remake of The Entity with James Wan, an adaptation of Death Note with director Adam Wingard, and an adaptation of The Forever War starring Channing Tatum. Lee is also behind the upcoming remake of Poltergeist and Cary Fukunaga‘s adaptation of Stephen King‘s It.
