Corona | Coming Attractions

The general public might have a distinct memory about The Incredible Shrinking Man but I don't think many people know the significance of the story's creator, Richard Matheson. Turning 87 this month, Matheson created an impressive body of speculative fiction work, crafting memorable episodes of the original Twilight Zone TV series as well as the novels I Am Legend and What Dreams May Come, both of which were turned into Hollywood movies. His short story "Steel" about robot boxers was also made into a recent movie, Real Steel, which starred Hugh Jackman.

But it's Matheson's novel about an ordinary man who starts to shrink down in size that captured the public's imagination. When The Incredible Shrinking Man was turned into a movie back in 1957, the special effects of that era amazed audiences and made a sizeable impact in the minds of the audience. Re-runs on television turned later generations on to the imaginative story, but in the past 30 years The Incredible Shrinking Man has faded away into a fondly remembered but dated piece of movie nolstagia.

For years Universal Pictures owned the screen rights to Matheson's novel and had tried to attach talent to star in a remake, but nothing ever came of those attempts. Universal gave up the rights last year, which allowed MGM to come in and try to set up their own take on a new and updated version of the story.

In a news item appearing in The Hollywood Reporter, the MGM acquisition of The Incredible Shrinking Man movie rights was mentioned along with news that Matheson himself will write the screenplay alongside his son Richard Matheson Jr. (who's also a working Hollywood screenwriter.) The story will be updated to reflect the 60 years of new technology that's come into play since the publication of the original book, such as using nanotechnology to explain how the main character begins inexplicably shrinking in size.

In a quote given to the Reporter, Matheson states that while the tech and effects will be updated, the core elements at the heart of The Incredible Shrinking Man story will remain the same. "My original story was a metaphor for how man’s place in the world was diminishing. That still holds today, where all these advancements that are going to save us will be our undoing," reflected the writer.

Both father and son will also receive producer credit on the movie. Here's hoping that the stars align and this new version of The Incredible Shrinking Man actually happens.