Michael Mann's Bizarre Horror Classic The Keep Is Getting A Remake From Horror Legend Greg Nicotero

How about some unexpected news to help kick off this Friday morning? "The Keep," which was famously adapted for the big screen by the great Michael Mann back in 1983, is getting a remake. The news comes to us directly from author F. Paul Wilson and, what's more, none other than Greg Nicotero is the one who will be directing this take on the rich material.

Wilson took to Twitter to reveal that a deal has been closed following a great deal of legal wrangling. "2 days ago, after a year and a half of lawyering between the 'purchaser' and my side at ICM, I signed an option/purchase agreement with Greg Nicotero for the remake of The Keep. Greg is a longtime fan of the book and he's got the chops to do a worthy adaptation," he said. Unfortunately, no further information has been revealed. No word on when filming will begin, who will star, or if a studio/streaming service has boarded the project yet. But, on the surface, it's pretty intriguing news. As for the story at hand? A synopsis for the book reads as follows:

"'Something is murdering my men.' Thus reads the message received from a Nazi commander stationed in a small castle high in the remote Transylvanian Alps. Invisible and silent, the enemy selects one victim per night, leaving the bloodless and mutilated corpses behind to terrify its future victims. When an elite SS extermination squad is dispatched to solve the problem, the men find something that's both powerful and terrifying. Panicked, the Nazis bring in a local expert on folklore–who just happens to be Jewish–to shed some light on the mysterious happenings. And unbeknownst to anyone, there is another visitor on his way–a man who awoke from a nightmare and immediately set out to meet his destiny."

For those who haven't seen Mann's version, it is a visually impressive, utterly bizarre genre work. It also stars a (relatively) young Ian McKellen, as well as Scott Glenn. The problem is, the director who would eventually go on to make classics like "Heat" didn't have as much clout back then, and Paramount heavily edited down his version of the film. 100 minutes were said to have been axed from his cut, leaving us with a 96-minute version that doesn't quite come together. Which makes sense, given that half of the movie is missing.

That being the case, it feels like the perfect movie to get the remake treatment. Who knows? Mann's complete version may have hit it out of the park, but we'll probably never see that version. What we did see on screen though would leave one to believe there is an excellent movie in there somewhere. And Nicotero, one of the best makeup artists in the business and one of the main voices behind "The Walking Dead," feels like the right man for the job.

"The Keep" remake does not have a release date set but we'll be sure to keep you posted as further details come our way.