The wonderfully funny, wonderfully talented Elizabeth Banks has made the transition from actress to filmmaker with Pitch Perfect 2 and recently Charlie’s Angels. And while the latter ended up being a dreadful failure, that doesn’t mean Banks is done directing movies any time soon.
Variety says that Banks will both direct and star in Invisible Woman for Universal. While we don’t know much (see: anything, really) about the project, we do know that it has nothing to do with the upcoming Invisible Man remake/reboot starring Elisabeth Moss that we are all so excited about. This Invisible Woman will be written by Erin Cressida Wilson (The Girl on the Train) based on a pitch from Banks herself. It seems that Elizabeth Banks is all over this project.
Invisible Woman comes at a time when Universal is hot on the idea of rebooting their classic movie monsters in new, inventive ways. Obviously they could just greenlight straight-up remakes if they wanted but they’re instead trying to rework the characters in ways that emphasize what makes them frightening in the first place. While I would be all about a brand new by-the-book Dracula or Frankenstein movie, I am much more excited to see talented filmmakers take on these properties and lead them in new directions. That seems to be what Leigh Whannell is doing with Invisible Man and that movie looks absolutely fantastic.
There was a time not too long ago when Universal was taking the exact opposite approach and was trying to create its Dark Universe, a slew of monster movies based on their iconic properties that were all tied together like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Well, that all fell apart when Tom Cruise’s The Mummy came and went with a resounding thud at the box office. Universal then took a step back, reassessed things and started plotting a new course forward for these characters. It seems like they have got the right idea now and thank goodness because the world always needs more great monster movies.