Joe Dante, Roger Corman planting new Little Shop Of Horrors

Fill up the watering cans and keep your distance, Audrey Jr. is sprouting back up hungrier than ever! That's right, it was just announced that old pals Joe Dante and Roger Corman will be working together on a new version of The Little Shop Of Horrors.

In the original film, directed by Corman, Seymour (Jonathan Haze) worked for florist Gravis Mushnick (Mel Welles), but the shop was not doing well until Seymour brought in his fascinating plant, Audrey Jr., named after his co-worker played by Jackie Joseph. Audrey Jr. began to talk, which created a buzz that brought in all kinds of business. However, things got more complicated for Seymour when he realized the new star craved blood. A mix of low-budget horror and comedy, the film cultivated its own cult following, aided in part by the appearance of beloved character actor Dick Miller and an up-and-comer by the name of Jack Nicholson.

Some viewers might be more familiar with the 1986 version of Little Shop Of Horrors. Frank Oz helmed the musical which was influenced by the 1982 Broadway show with music by future Disney superstar composer Alan Menken. A much bigger affair, this one starred Rick Moranis and featured appearances by comedy icons Steve Martin, Bill Murray, John Candy and Christopher Guest all while the killer plant puppet grew to ever more impressive sizes. It's an absolute classic and one of the best horror musicals around (by the way, check out the Director's Cut with the alternate ending if possible).

Earlier this decade reports came out about a potential remake with names like Scarlett Johannson, Taron Egerton and Chris Evans sprouting up, but that one died on the vine in 2022. We'll never know what that film would have been like, but it feels appropriate that Dante would remake Corman given their long working relationship. Corman gave Dante his first co-directing gig with 1976's Hollywood Boulevard alongside Allan Arkush.

Two years later, while still working for Corman, he helmed Piranha on his own, which then launched into a variety of classics like The Howling, The 'burbs and both Gremlins movies, the first of which is one of the best Christmas horror films ever made. Dante has been doing more TV work of late, including episodes of Salem and Witches Of East End, though he did contribute to the Nightmare Cinema anthology film that came out in 2018. More prominently, he has co-hosted the long-running podcast The Movies That Made Me, a spinoff of Trailers From Hell.

Corman partially or fully directed over 50 films between 1955 and 1971, including some of the most beloved Edgar Allan Poe adaptations starring Vincent Price, and launched his own production company New World Productions. A true legend, he never balked at the opportunity to make the most of what he had -- Little Shop Of Horrors was made in a few days when they realized production had just a little more time with the Bucket Of Blood sets -- and giving eager young filmmakers a shot. In addition to Dante, he was instrumental in the careers of Jonathan Demme, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorcese and James Cameron.

While details about the new film are scant for now, we do know that previous Dante collaborator Charles S. Haas is on board to pen the script. He did the same for Gremlins 2: The New Batch and Matinee. We'll keep you posted on more news as it springs up!