James Wan Gives Disappointing Update On ‘Call of Cthulhu’ Adaptation

James Wan has a disappointing update on his adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s horror short story Call of Cthulhu. Wan first announced that he would be adapting Lovecraft’s cosmic horror in 2023, describing it as a “dream project” that he had been developing for five years up until that point, but since then, little news has been heard about Wan’s passion project until now. 

Wan was recently interviewed for the release of Lee Cronin’s The Mummy by ScreenRant’s Ash Crosson, who prompted the filmmaker for an update on his Lovecraft adaptation. Wan talked highly of the project, still confirming that it was in development and that it was something he had “been wanting to do for a while.” However, the main challenge The Conjuring creator faces now is funding, as making the Lovecraftian universe come to life is not cheap, and Wan admits it is “very hard to try and get them off the ground.” But Wan seems resilient and confident in the project, with his resolution for now is to “keep chipping away at it.” 

While it might be expensive to make Lovecraft’s universe, that isn’t to say it hasn’t been done before. Numerous works of Lovecraft’s have been adapted over the years in many different ways, from Vernon Sewell’s Boris Karloff-led The Crimson Cult (1967), Stuart Gordon’s campy 80s classic Re-Animator (1985), to Dan O’Bannon’s The Resurrected (1991), which is possibly the most faithful of the Lovecraft adaptations. But for every Lovecraftian adaptation made, one is shelved. Like Guillermo del Toro’s feature adaptation of At The Mountains of Madness, which was announced in 2010 with del Toro co-writing the script. However, later that year, the project fell through, with del Toro citing the R-rating, a tough ending, and no love story, making for a hard sell, so it disappeared as quickly as it rose. 

I, for one, hope this isn’t the case for Wan, as his adaptation of Call of Cthulhu could be another Saw or Insidious, bringing more horrors to the horrorsphere. Hopefully, he is able to find the funds to make Cthulhu more than a dream.