When it comes to body horror, it doesn’t get much better than David Cronenberg. The auteur’s films are equally impressive for their surprising tenderness as they are for their cringe-inducing effects. Cronenberg’s The Fly may be the best example of that juxtaposition: the 1986 film is as tragic as it is terrifying, rendering an outlandish (even silly) premise to devastating effect. In anyone else’s hands, the story of a man who accidentally becomes bonded with a common housefly could have easily been reduced to a farce. But Cronenberg takes his subject matter seriously, twisting a traditional creature feature into a tragic tale of mortality.
Cronenberg’s iteration of The Fly was not the first; nor was it the last — but generations of horror fans now recognize it as the definitive version of this story. The film presents a major challenge for anyone hoping to follow in Cronenberg’s footsteps, but as Hollywood continues its mad scramble for viable intellectual property, The Fly is getting the franchise treatment.
20th Century Studios and Chernin Entertainment are officially developing a new film set in the Fly universe. Nanny director Nikyatu Jusu will serve as both screenwriter and director, and according to Deadline, the project is “set in the universe of Cronenberg’s film, rather than a straightforward remake.” Whether the new film will take place after The Fly II, which followed the son of the “original” Fly (played by Jeff Goldblum), or introduce a brand new human-insect hybrid, remains to be seen. Either way, it’ll be interesting to see where Jusu takes the IP.
Since Nanny debuted at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, securing the Grand Jury Prize and a distribution deal shortly after, Jusu has become one of the most sought-after directors in the genre space. Apart from The Fly, she’s been tapped to helm a sequel to Night of the Living Dead, along with a yet-untitled film for Jordan Peele’s Monkey Paw productions. After years of fighting for recognition in horror, Jusu’s success is hard won. That said, it’s definitely bittersweet, as Jusu is one of a handful of directors openly embracing AI-assisted filmmaking.
Generative AI has been gaining a slow but steady foothold in Hollywood, with countless filmmakers weighing in on the divisive new practice. Jusu surprised many when she unveiled a still from her upcoming short film Spirit, a project created using Sora’s AI text-to-video-model. (The film premiered at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, part of a block dedicated to Sora AI.) The announcement came just a year after Jusu publicly decried AI filmmaking on social media, calling the practice “empty mimicry” in since-deleted X posts.
Jusu has since changed her tune — or, in her words, adapted to “inevitable change” in the industry. It’s a disappointing pivot for a filmmaker with boundless potential, but as AI becomes a more attractive prospect, Jusu likely won’t be the only director embracing it. It’s unlikely that 20th Century or Chernin will be relying on AI for their Fly sequel, as programs like Sora are still a ways off from practical application. Eventually, however, we may see directors like Jusu using the tech on the blockbuster level. It’s unfortunate, but as Jusu says, it may be inevitable.
