‘Lord of the Flies’ Remake In Development, To Feature Female Lead Characters

Here’s to new classic film/novel remakes! A reimagining of William Golding’s 1954 novel, “Lord of the Flies” is in development at Warner Bros., but this time it won’t be focusing on boys as the protagonists of the film—they will all be girls this time.

The novel has been a staple high school lit class material and has since been featured in two films already. The first one was in 1963, directed by Peter Brook and starring James Aubrey, Tom Chapin, and Hugh Edwards. The second remake was directed by Harry Hook in 1990 and starred Balthazar Getty, Chris Furrh, and Danuel Pipoly. “Lord of the Flies” follows the story of a group of young boys stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. With no adults around, the boys establish some kind of mini-democracy as they attempt to live on the island. But as time passes, things go awry as they all turn to their most horrific feral tendencies.

Balthazar Getty and Chris Furrh in Lord of the Flies (1990). Photo via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.

A New Take On ‘Lord of the Flies’

In a report by Deadline, the “Lord of the Flies” remake is currently in development at Warner Bros and will be written and directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel. The two directors have worked together in the past, having worked on films like “Suture” (1993), “The Deep End” (2001) starring Tilda Swinton, and the indie thriller “Uncertainty” (2008) starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lynn Collins. McGehee and Siegel’s latest collaborative effort was the drama film “What Maisie Knew” in 2012. They are also set to produce “Life of the Party,” an upcoming comedy movie starring Ben Falcone and Melissa McCarthy.

The directors said that they are big fans of the original “Lord of the Flies” film. However, McGehee thinks that a fresh, contemporary take on the classic novel needed to happen—even going as far as changing the character from a group of young boys to young girls. Here’s what McGehee had to say:

“[The subject matter] is aggressively suspenseful, and taking the opportunity to tell it in a way it hasn’t been told before, with girls rather than boys, is that it shifts things in a way that might help people see the story anew. It breaks away from some of the conventions, the ways we think of boys and aggression. People still talk about the movie and the book from the standpoint of pure storytelling. It is a great adventure story, real entertainment, but it has a lot of meaning embedded in it as well. We’ve gotten to think about this awhile as the rights were worked out, and we’re super eager to put pen to paper.”

Lord of the Flies (1963). Photo via Two Arts Ltd.

It’s certainly an intriguing plan. Should this version of “Lord of the Flies” push through, it will be joining the ranks of gender-bended classic films like “Ghostbusters” and the upcoming “Ocean’s Eight” movie. “What Maisie Knew” was generally well-received, making McGehee and Siegel great directors to do the remake. However, “Lord of the Flies” is a very iconic novel; it could be a hit or miss for the gender-bended version, but whatever the case may be, it’s worth taking a shot at.