With the half-dozen or so Frankenstein-themed projects percolating in Hollywood, it looks like “Wake the Dead” is getting up off the gurney first, with Haley Joel Osment set to star in the retelling that’s set in the present day, Variety's Justin Kroll exclusively reports. Jay Russell will helm the horror pic based on the graphic novels by Steven Niles, with Osment playing the role of Victor Frankenstein, a college student experimenting with reversing death. And it gets weirder. Guns ‘n’ Roses lead guitarist Slash will produce with Michael Williams and Rob Eric through Slasher Films. Though it seems that just about every studio has something in the works stemming from Mary Shelley’s gothic tale, Osment’s is the first known casting. The “Sixth Sense” thesp has been on hiatus from acting while working on his college degree. SHOWBLITZ first reported last week that Fox was cooking up a Frankenstein pic with Max Landis penning the script, and a handful of directors circling the project, including Ron Howard, Paul Greengrass and David Yates. Other Frankenstein projects in development include Summit’s “This Dark Endeavor”; Universal’s untitled “Frankenstein” pic with Guillermo del Toro and Scott Stuber developing; Lakeshore Entertainment’s “I, Frankenstein,” with Stuart Beattie writing and directing; an adaptation of Peter Ackroyd’s novel “The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein” from Ghost House Pictures and RT Features; and a contemporary take from Columbia Pictures and Matt Tolmach.
