Lionsgate to develop a remake of the 1978 ventriloquist’s dummy horror film Magic with Sam Raimi producing

Nope! Since Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone debuted “The Dummy” in 1962, I’ve upheld a strict “No Ventriloquist Dummy” entertainment policy. Okay, so I’ve seen James Wan’s Dead Silence, and I will tolerate Gabbo of The Simpsons fame, but I will not stand for this Magic remake currently in development at Lionsgate. Ugh! You monsters!

According to an official press release from Lionsgate, the studio is developing a remake of the 1978 cult classic Magic into a newly imagined film, produced by Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Drag Me to Hell, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) and Roy Lee, producer of It and Weapons. Chris Hammond and Tim Sullivan, who have long championed the project and guided its development, will produce alongside Raimi and Lee. Raimi Productions’ Zainab Azizi will also produce, and the executive producers are Paul Fishkin and Andrew Childs for Vertigo.

Mark Swift and Damian Shannon, who previously wrote Raimi Productions’ upcoming survival horror thriller Send Help for 20th Century Studios, will write the remake of Magic.

The original Magic starred Anthony Hopkins as Corky, a magician who reaches fame alongside his ventriloquist’s dummy, the obnoxious and wisecracking Fats, whom Corky cannot control. It also starred Ann-Margret and Burgess Meredith. Directed by Richard Attenborough and written by William Goldman, based on his novel, the movie made waves even before its release with its terrifying TV ads, which declared, “Magic is fun—we’re dead.”

In Richard Attenborough’s Magic, a ventriloquist (Hopkins) is at the mercy of his vicious dummy while he tries to renew a romance with his high school sweetheart.

How do you feel about ventriloquist dummies? Are they funny? Harmless? Creepy as f**k? Would you spend a night with a dummy sitting opposite your bed, slumped over in a chair, in the dark, with its insidious smile, waiting to come to life and kill you in the night? I’m not particularly scared of dolls per se, but I draw the line at ventriloquist dummies. I find them annoying, and the humor typically associated with them even worse. All that said, I find myself stoked about the Magic remake coming from Lionsgate. Why? After everything I’ve said? Because I’m sick. A masochist. Bring it on, Raimi. Let’s see what you’ve got!

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