It’s being reported that the classic 1935 pirate movie Captain Blood, which starred Errol Flynn in the title role, is on its way to a remake of sorts. Don’t worry too much, though — it’s more of a re-envisioning than anything else, and actually might not be as crazy as it sounds. Warner Brothers has hired brothers Michael and Peter Spierig to direct a brand new version of the film, with John Brownlow tapped to write the script. The Spierig brothers haven’t done much yet, but they wrote and directed the upcoming vampire movie Daybreakers and are starting to gather plenty of attention.

While looking for ideas on what to do with the property, the Spierig brothers made a pitch to WB that took them a while to embrace, but which now has the project in motion. Their pitch: bring the story to outer space.

Captain Blood tells the story of a respected doctor who tries to help a wounded enemy soldier. Even though it’s his duty as a doctor to try and help any human who needs care, he is tried and enslaved for his actions. He eventually finds a way to use his skills and smarts to escape his captors, and take control of a pirate ship as the feared Captain Blood.

Now, taking a cherished classic like Captain Blood and putting it in space is bound to infuriate some people, but don’t get too worked up — this could actually work out. Keep in mind, this isn’t really a remake, but more of a re-envisioned take; the film makers will be taking the premise of Blood, and telling it in space with new characters. They won’t be putting pirates in space, and they likely won’t be calling it Captain Blood. At least I highly doubt these things. Think of it like Seven Samurai, which was eventually turned into many other movies like The Magnificent Seven, Three Amigos, and A Bug’s Life — all of which were original and loved in their own way.

[Source: Variety]