The reboot of the cult classic crime comedy Cluehas found the perfect director, with Zach Cregger, who is best known for the horror movie hit Barbarian, reportedly joining the project. Earlier this year, Sony acquired the film and television rights to the Clue franchise, with Sony’s TriStar Pictures and Hasbro Entertainment all set to produce the new take on the board game. The news of Cregger’s involvement comes from notable insider Jeff Sneider, who writes:
“I hear that Cregger is in talks to direct the Clue movie for Sony’s TriStar Pictures label, which landed the film and TV rights to the classic Hasbro board game back in April (along with Sony Pictures Television).
I’m told that Shay Hatten will write the script, having previously written John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and Chapter 4 as well as Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon movies and the director’s zombie film Army of the Dead.
Based on the Hasbro board game, the 1985 Clue movie adaptation was directed by Jonathan Lynn. The film starred Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Leslie Ann Warren, Christopher Lloyd, Eileen Brennan, Michael McKean, and more. The film performed poorly at the box office but grew to be a cult-classic after the DVD rental wave and desire for nostalgia in the digital age of the mid 2000s.
Hollywood has been attempting a Clue reboot for many years. However, the timing may finally be ideal with the resurgence of the whodunit genre. 20th Century Studios and Disney’s modern re-imagining of the Agatha Christie Poirot film franchise is one of a few mystery franchises making a comeback in the last decade, with 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express kicking off the new era. While both it and 2022’s Death on the Nile received a mixed reception due to the scandals and press of cast members, 2023’s A Haunting in Venice was well regarded, earning a critics’ score of 75% and a 77% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Lionsgate and Netflix films Knives Out and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, meanwhile, bring a modern twist to the classic whodunit. Both films have received amazing reviews, with the franchise set to continue on with a third installment. Titled Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, the third film is slated to release in 2025. The whodunit trend continues to grow from the big screen to the silver screen with entries like Hulu’s Emmy winning series Only Murders in the Building and their original series Death and Other Details, although the latter was canceled after one season.
Audiences are clearly responsive to the whodunit genre comeback, and it will be interesting to see how Sony and Cregger attempt to subvert expectations and stand out against the new competing franchises.
You can stream the original
Clue
on Paramount+