Remake of horror film ‘The Others’ in the works at Universal Pictures

Nicole Kidman’s 2001 haunted house movie The Others will be getting a remake at Universal Pictures, according to reports by Hollywood news portal Deadline.

Universal Pictures acquired the rights to The Others from Sentient Entertainment. Sources say that studio executives are meeting with writers to discuss the script. It is still unknown how much material from the original storyline will be adapted in the remake or who will take over directorial duties.

Sentient founder Renee Tab and Christopher Tuffin will produce the film alongside Lucas Akoskin of Aliwen Entertainment, while FilmSharks CEO Guido Rud, Enrique Cerezo’s Video Mercury, and Michael and Jenny Miller will be executive producers.

Originally helmed by Chilean director Alejandro Amenabar, the 2001 horror flick is set in 1945 towards the end of World War II. In the movie, Kidman plays the character of Grace Stewart, a devoutly religious mother who relocates with her children, Anne and Nicholas, to a remote country house on the British island of Jersey to protect the kids from a rare photosensitivity disease that causes the sun to harm them.

Anne says she has seen a group of people (the others) in the house several times – a man, a woman, an old woman and a child named Victor – who claimed “the house is theirs.” Grace initially thinks the new servants are playing tricks but chilling events and visions make her believe that something supernatural has occurred.

The Others was a box office success, grossing more than $209.9 million worldwide on a measly $17 million budget. Initially, the film had a lukewarm opening in the US but those who saw the film were so spooked that fast spreading word-of-mouth from audiences turned it into a sleeper hit.