Michael Bay and the gang at Platinum Dunes are at it again, folks, except this time they’re not rehashing a landmark horror franchise from the seventies or eighties but rather a well-known supernatural board game, the Ouija Board. The proposed project has been set-up at Universal where toy manufacturer Hasbro (you know, those folks that made a shitload of $$ off Bay and co. after Transformers annihilated the box office last summer) has a six-year strategic partnership.
No details on what direction the story will take, and there are no writers, stars or a director attached at this point, so expect the development of this one to move along at the high-octane pace of a turtle.
Quite frankly, I thought Platinum Dunes would decide to cannibalize the Witchboard movies instead. I guess that franchise, not surprisingly, just didn’t have enough name recognition for Dunes to gain that all-important built-in audience they crave. The fact that Hasbro’s been selling the Ouija Board in droves since 1966 may have something to do with this choice, however.
Meanwhile, Platinum Dunes is currently shooting a remake of Friday the 13th, with Marcus Nispel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 2003) at the helm. Additionally, and they’re also currently in post on David S. Goyer’s The Unborn, a tale about a woman fighting off a spirit that’s slowly taking possession of her.
Mr. Bay, my only request is that you don’t turn it into Jumanji or Zathura with demons. Please, anything but that!