fantastic voyage remake

James Cameron Confirms He’s Planning to ‘Go Ahead With’ a ‘Fantastic Voyage’ Remake ‘Very Soon’

By Ben Croll

• Venice Immersive Offers Space for VR and Other New Media Artists to Grow and Expand on Technology 1 day ago
• French Directors Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma on Exploring Teenage Angst With Pop Power in Venice Competition Film ‘And Their Children After Them’ 4 days ago
• Jeremy Allen White Has Been Texting Bruce Springsteen About Boss Biopic, Plans to Attend London Show: ‘I’m Really Excited to See Him Perform’ 1 month ago

Gallic cinephiles gave James Cameron a hero’s welcome at a Paris masterclass on Thursday, ushering the action auteur onstage with a reception so thunderous that it shook the filmmaker’s oft-unflappable public demeanor.

“That’s the record,” he said in between laughs and in a show of uncommon giddiness. “That’s the record for the longest applause I’ve ever had in my life. Thank you. This is a high point of my career!”

Related Stories

2024 Live Music Business Is Driving Record Revenues, but Some Data Points Raise Concerns

Sony and Zee Reach Settlement, Ending Merger Disputes

Popular on variety.

Dreams and Nightmares

While Sigourney Weaver flanked her longtime collaborator at the exhibition’s opening vernissage, “Proxima” director Alice Winocour stepped in to lead the talk. Still, the star actress remained a prime subject of conversation – leading to an endearing connection between the two filmmakers.

After Winocour said that she wrote many of her scripts sitting below a framed photo of Weaver as Ellen Ripley, Cameron revealed he had done the very same, writing “Aliens” for an actress he had yet to meet while taking inspiration from her photo.

And though the sequel’s visual universe built on the designs of H.R. Giger, the incoming director made sure to leave his own mark on the material by introducing the Alien Queen. “I think Giger was a little disappointed that we didn’t hire him,” said Cameron, listing off the various biomechanoid features that made the new villain such chilling addition. “But I had so many ideas about what I could do in that same area.”

“[I remembered a dream] where I went into a dark room with every square inch of the walls and ceiling covered in wasps, and I knew that if I moved or tried to escape, they would attack me dead,” he recalled. “Every horror film must go to the deepest and worst place in the subconscious [because] that’s the point. That’s what you to pay your money for.”

‘Avatar’ and Beyond

Given the event’s reflective and retrospective context, Cameron offered little new information about his three upcoming “Avatar” sequels. However, he reassured the audience that work on Part 3 is coming along for an intended late 2025 release and that the scripts for the subsequent volleys are finished, the designs nearly locked and 3D modeling just about to begin.

As for other pursuits, the filmmaker once again brought up his plans to produce a remake of the 1966 tour-through-the-human-body “ Fantastic Voyage ,” a project Cameron and his partner Jon Landau have toyed with for over a decade.

“We’ve been developing it for a number of years, and we plan to go ahead with it very soon,” Cameron said. “Raquel Welch is not available, but we think we can make a pretty good movie.”

Hope and Dread

Without giving any more specifics, Cameron perhaps offered a thematic clue when describing his appreciation for science fiction as a conduit for both hope and dread.

“Science fiction allows us to imagine futures that can emerge from our present day,” he said. “When ‘Star Wars’ came along, science fiction seemed to suddenly become very upbeat, [all about] entertainment and adventure. But the history has always been about warning, about the misuse of technology and the misuse of science.”

“Who gets to decide what’s good for humanity?” he asked. “Machine intelligence will only be a reflection of us. It’ll be us with all our flaws and all of our potentially evil intentions. Yes, that can be good, but the atomic scientists of the 1930s believed [they would unlock] an infinite power source that would abolish starvation… Instead we got Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Cold War. This is what concerns me.”

Taste for Risk

Reflecting on a career path that began with schlock before building toward some of the highest grossing – and most expensive – films of all time, Cameron saw a clear throughline in his taste for risk.

“The more established you become, the more you risk losing what you’ve already gained,” he said. “But I also think that the greatest risk you can make is not trying something new and different. There’s a tendency, when the budget gets bigger, to start to go for the lowest common denominator – and you cannot do that.”

More from Variety

Donald Trump Shares Bizarre Photoshopped Image Showing Himself, JD Vance, Elon Musk and Others as DC Superheroes

4D Movie Tech Lacks Consumer Awareness: Survey

Pablo Larrain’s ‘Maria,’ Starring Angelina Jolie, Sells to Key International Territories

Oasis Warns Against Reselling as Fans Report Technical Issues Getting Tickets for Reunion Tour

Reality TV Survived the ’07 Writers Strike. Why Is It Hurting in 2024?

We Survived ‘Baby Invasion’: Inside Harmony Korine’s Insane Experimental Film That Earned an 8.5-Minute Standing Ovation at Venice

More from our brands, missy elliott, ciara, questlove, more remember fatman scoop.

How Véronique Nichanian Built Hermès Menswear One Stitch at a Time

NCAA Nixes QR Codes in Move Criticized as Outdated

The Best Loofahs and Body Scrubbers, According to Dermatologists

Saturday Night Live: Where to Buy Beloved Characters in Funko Pop! Form Before Season 50 Debuts

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

site categories

Roland emmerich calls james cameron “very overbearing,” explains why he exited ‘fantastic voyage’.

During a San Diego Comic-Con panel, Emmerich recalled butting heads with Cameron, who has been trying to get a remake of the 1966 film off the ground for years.

By Ryan Gajewski

Ryan Gajewski

Senior Entertainment Reporter

• Share on Facebook
• Share to Flipboard
• Send an Email
• Show additional share options
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on Reddit
• Share on Tumblr
• Share on Whats App
• Print the Article
• Post a Comment

It’s safe to say that Roland Emmerich and James Cameron aren’t likely to collaborate anytime soon.

During a conversation between filmmakers Emmerich and Antoine Fuqua at San Diego Comic-Con , director Louis Leterrier appeared via video to ask Emmerich about the long-gestating remake of the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage that Cameron has been trying to get off the ground. Leterrier mentioned that he would still love to get to direct the film and asked Emmerich about his experience years ago with the project.

Related Stories

'alien: romulus' director fede álvarez on that surprise character: "it was unfair that the likeness was never used again", james cameron talks 'avatar,' 'alien: romulus' and whales in spicy chat: "damn right i'm overbearing".

The Independence Day filmmaker continued, “We were in very beginning stages. Because I said, ‘Gosh, why is he so overbearing?’ I have to say, I do my stuff, and when I can’t do my stuff, I’m totally not interested. As simple as that. So when somebody else wants to say something to me and is more powerful than me, I drop out.”

Emmerich, whose other credits include The Day After Tomorrow and the new Peacock series Those About to Die , said in a 2007 interview that he dropped out of helming Fantastic Voyage because he was unhappy with the script. A number of directors have since eyed the project , including Paul Greengrass, Shawn Levy and Guillermo del Toro.

The 1966 sci-fi movie Fantastic Voyage starred Stephen Boyd and Raquel Welch. It focused on a submarine crew getting shrunk down to enter the body of a scientist who suffered a brain injury.

During an April event at Cinematheque Francaise in Paris, Cameron spoke about the status of his Fantastic Voyage remake. He noted that, while the film had been in development for quite some time, he still hoped to move forward with it soon.

THR Newsletters

Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day

More from The Hollywood Reporter

‘martha’ review: r.j. cutler tries to get martha stewart to let down her guard in mixed-bag netflix doc, telluride: for a towering turn in ‘maria,’ angelina jolie is in the hunt for a second oscar, oliver stone says robert downey jr. nearly ruined ‘natural born killers’ with “slapstick bullsh**”, venice trips out on harmony korine’s ‘baby invasion’, ‘the piano lesson’ review: danielle deadwyler buoys malcolm washington’s dutiful august wilson adaptation, harmony korine’s ‘baby invasion’ delivers wild message from mercenary group duck mobb: “nobody is safe”.

Den of Geek

Why Hasn’t Fantastic Voyage Been Remade Yet?

As we mourn the passing of ‘60s icon Raquel Welch, we ponder why her breakthrough sci-fi classic, Fantastic Voyage, has not received a full-on upgrade.

• Share on Facebook (opens in a new tab)
• Share on Twitter (opens in a new tab)
• Share on Linkedin (opens in a new tab)
• Share on email (opens in a new tab)

When 1960s and ‘70s icon Raquel Welch died last week at the age of 82 , much of the media focus was on her (well-deserved) status as one of the most memorable and gorgeous sex symbols in movie history. A lot of the coverage, in fact, noted that the Chicago native’s substantial talents as an actress, singer, and dancer (she appeared in 30 films, numerous TV series, and hosted a handful of her own variety specials), were overshadowed by her status as one of the era’s premiere pinups.

While she may be best remembered for her turn as a skimpily-clad cavewoman in 1966’s One Million Years B.C. , her breakout role came earlier that year in the 20th Century Fox sci-fi spectacle Fantastic Voyage . The film was Welch’s fourth, but the first in which she had a lead role. She played Cora Peterson, one of five members of a medical team who are miniaturized, along with a small submarine, and injected into the body of a defecting Soviet scientist in order to remove a clot from his brain and save his life.

With only 60 minutes in which to work, since that is when the miniaturization process will subside and they’ll revert to full size, the team makes its way via the patient’s bloodstream through various marquee organs—the heart, the lungs, the ear—each with their own dangers and challenges. Meanwhile the crew’s security officer (Stephen Boyd) begins to suspect that someone on board is a saboteur, installed on the mission by the enemy government to kill him from the inside.

Welch doesn’t have a lot of dialogue in the movie, but for the era, she’s no wallflower either. Her character is a capable technician charged with assisting the surgeon who’s going to perform the procedure. Welch and the rest of the cast, which also includes reliable character actors like Boyd ( Ben-Hur ), Donald Pleasance ( Halloween ), and Edmond O’Brian ( Seven Days in May ), all acquit themselves reasonably well considering that they spend most of the movie either on wires or in the cramped submarine set.

Ad – content continues below

Like many movies of its time, Fantastic Voyage is best remembered for its audacious (if scientifically ludicrous) premise and its technical presentation of the inner workings of the human body, which were recreated through the use of large sets , animation, and rear projection. The 57-year-old movie looks shakier today in visual terms—although one has to wonder how far we’ve really come from matte images to, say, the Volume—but watching it begs the question: Why hasn’t this been remade?

A Sci-Fi Spectacle of Its Time

Directed by Richard Fleischer, whose other sci-fi outings included the Disney submarine classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) and the seminal Charlton Heston overpopulation thriller Soylent Green (1973), Fantastic Voyage was conceived by writers Otto Clement and Jerome Bixby (the latter wrote the classic “It’s a Good Life” episode of The Twilight Zone and penned two of the original Star Trek ’s most famous segments , “Mirror, Mirror” and “Day of the Dove”).

The story was adapted by David Duncan ( The Time Machine ) and the final screenplay penned by Harry Kleiner (yes, they had multiple writers on films back then too!), with science fiction titan Isaac Asimov approached to write the novelization. Because Asimov penned the book at a fairly rapid pace, leading it to come out ahead of the movie due to the latter’s production delays, it was a common misconception for years that Asimov himself came up with the premise and story.

Many of the internal organs that the submarine (dubbed the Proteus) travels through were created as full-sized sets, in which a five-foot model of the craft would sail. A full-sized set of the Proteus interior was also built, along with other versions of various sizes. Fox had announced prior to production that Fantastic Voyage would be the most expensive sci-fi film made to date, and with a final budget of $6 million (about $56 million when adjusted for inflation), the picture certainly lived up to that billing.

Critical reception at the time was mostly kind, and Fantastic Voyage won Oscars for Best Special Effects and Best Art Direction . Looking at it now, it moves more slowly than modern VFX-driven blockbusters (as do most films made before, say, the mid-1990s), and as mentioned the effects have not aged all that well. But there is absolutely a sense of wonder and even awe still present in the film, the imagery is colorful, imaginative, and psychedelic, and its ticking-clock narrative still builds in suspense and tension.

With Hollywood always on the lookout for another IP to remake or reinvigorate, it stands to reason that Fantastic Voyage would be ripe for rediscovery. The basic story remains sound, from a genre point of view, and the capabilities of modern VFX houses would no doubt be able to bring the interior of the human body to life in ways that the makers of the 1966 movie could have only dreamed about.

So what’s the holdup? The truth is that Fantastic Voyage has been on the remake “to-do” list for years, but even some heavyweight genre filmmakers have been unable to get it to the starting gate, never mind across the finish line.

Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!

Decades of Development Hell

Although there was a short-lived Saturday morning animated kids’ series that ran in 1968 on ABC, it wasn’t until 1984 that development of a new Fantastic Voyage movie , at the time as a sequel, began in earnest. Isaac Asimov was asked in 1984 to pen a sequel novel that could be then turned into a movie. His book, titled Fantastic Voyage II: Destination Brain , came out in 1987 and featured an entirely different story and characters, but the movie itself was never made.

The IP went dormant for more than a decade after that, until no less an auteur than James Cameron expressed an interest in remaking the original film. With his experience in working with water and sets both massive and cramped, as well as his ongoing exploration of the bleeding edge in visual effects, it’s enticing to imagine what Cameron could have done with this material.

Cameron did get as far as writing a screenplay, but after completing Titanic , his mind began to turn toward the development and creation of Avatar . He decided not to direct Fantastic Voyage , although he was willing to produce a film based on his script.

Next up was Roland Emmerich , the king of Z-movies disguised as blockbusters, who actually began pre-production on the movie in 2007. But Emmerich also rejected Cameron’s screenplay and commissioned a new one. We’ve had our issues with Cameron as a writer for sure, but this is still the guy who wrote Aliens and The Terminator , and the idea of the fellow who directed The Day After Tomorrow and Independence Day: Resurgence rejecting Cameron’s script makes us both laugh and cry.

The new script got bogged down thanks to a Writers Guild strike, and Emmerich exited the project to make sure that 2012 could meet its title release year. Paul Greengrass ( The Bourne Ultimatum ) and Shawn Levy ( Free Guy ) both spent some time after that on Fantastic Voyage ’s increasingly not-so-fantastic development process, and both eventually dropped out with no results either.

Enter Guillermo del Toro . Everyone’s favorite genre filmmaker was announced to be in talks about the movie in 2016 , with David S. Goyer ( Batman Begins ) coming aboard to pen a new version of the script in collaboration with neuroscientist Justin Rhodes. While Greengrass and Levy were not especially exciting prospects, del Toro was easily the most intriguing since Cameron’s tenure on the film. While the latter would probably have brought a great deal of scientific rigor to a new Fantastic Voyage , we could easily see Del Toro turning the inside of the brain into a Gothic memory palace while making microbes and white blood cells into nightmarish Lovecraftian monsters. Alas, del Toro reportedly put the project on hold in mid-2017 to focus on completing The Shape of Water , intending to return to it in the spring of 2018.

That date came and went, and in the intervening five years, del Toro has developed, written, and directed both Nightmare Alley and his stop-motion adaptation of Pinocchio , released late last year. His next two projects are another stop-motion film , The Buried Giant , and an unnamed live-action effort, but is there any chance it could be Fantastic Voyage ?

It seems unlikely at this point. Following Disney’s purchase of 20th Century Fox in 2019, the fate of many projects in the Fox pipeline became murky or lost in development limbo, if not canceled outright. As far as we can ascertain, no one’s ever said a word about any of the scripts that were commissioned for the film, with the exception of David Goyer, who told The Scriptlab in 2015 that he and Justin Rhodes were striving to make it as “realistic” as possible.

Whether the remake ever gets made or not, Fantastic Voyage is still a landmark in the subgenre of movies about shrinking people, which stretches from 1936’s The Devil-Doll to the 1957 masterpiece The Incredible Shrinking Man , to comedies like 1989’s Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and 2015’s Ant-Man . Its influence on the latter is considerable, and aside from 1987’s Innerspace (which owes an enormous amount to Fantastic Voyage ) it remains the only live-action sci-fi movie to travel inside the human body.

But one thing that all those movies, and any potential remake, doesn’t have is the luminous presence of Raquel Welch, perhaps Fantastic Voyage ’s greatest visual effect.

Don Kaye | @donkaye

Don Kaye is an entertainment journalist by trade and geek by natural design. Born in New York City, currently ensconced in Los Angeles, his earliest childhood memory is…

Guillermo Del Toro Might Go On A 'Fantastic Voyage' With James Cameron

It's been a couple of years since we last heard about  Fantastic Voyage , which means we're due for another update on the long-gestating James Cameron project. And this one is definitely worth the wait.

Guillermo del Toro is looking to direct the remake of the 1966 sci-fi adventure, which is set up at 20th Century Fox with Cameron producing through Lightstorm Entertainment. Del Toro, you'll recall, has a wide-open schedule now that  Pacific Rim 2 has been  halted indefinitely . But don't worry, there's a small, potentially positive update about  Pacific Rim 2 here, too.  THR reports del Toro has entered talks to helm  Fantastic Voyage , which is envisioned as an "event-sized tentpole."  David Goyer wrote the treatment and the script , and will work with del Toro to further develop the script. Goyer and del Toro previously worked together on  Blade II . Fantastic Voyage is also a reunion for del Toro and Cameron, who tried to mount an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's  At the Mountains of Madness together.

The original  Fantastic Voyage  was a Cold War adventure about a team of scientists who shrink themselves down to atomic size and enter a man's body to try and save his life. That premise may sound familiar even if you've never seen  Fantastic Voyage , as it's been parodied and riffed on countless times including in shows like  Futurama ,  Family Guy , and  Archer . Joe Dante's  Innerspace was also inspired by it.

The  Fantastic Voyage reboot has been in development for several years, with Cameron signing on about ten years ago. Roland Emmerich , Paul Greengrass , Louis Leterrier , and Shawn Levy have all been linked to the project at various points. Before Goyer, Marianne and Cormac Wibberly, Shane Salerno, Laeta Kalogridis, and Cameron himself all took turns trying to crack the screenplay.

Del Toro was originally planning to follow up  Crimson Peak with  Pacific Rim 2 , due out in 2017, but Universal hit the brakes last fall. As of now there's no word on if or when progress will resume on  Pacific Rim 2 . The answer might be never. However, THR offers a small glimmer of hope. You see, Chinese conglomerate Dailan Wanda Group is about to acquire a majority stake in Legendary Entertainment. And while the original  Pacific Rim  tanked in the U.S., it did big business in China. A sequel seems somewhat more plausible once you look at the Chinese box office numbers.

But  if  a Pacific Rim  sequel happens, it's probably still a ways off.  Fantastic Voyage looks likely to be del Toro's next project as of now. No release date has been set as of yet. While we wait, revisit the trailer for the original  Fantastic Voyage below.

And here's a promo for the  Archer version, because why not?

Guillermo Del Toro's Fantastic Voyage Remake Begins Shooting This January

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Kevin Feige Teases X-Men Roster for MCU Reboot

Hollywood pariah can’t even afford to gas up his truck anymore, audiences prefer original movies over franchises, study claims.

A 60s classic is about to get the remake treatment from one of Hollywood's modern visionaries. Guillermo Del Toro, the man behind movies like Pacific Rim and Pan's Labyrinth , is reportedly set to tackle the 1966 sci-fi adventure The Fantastic Voyage as his next project. According to a new report, filming on the remake is set to being in Toronto this January, which means that Del Toro isn't going to be moving from The Shape of Water right into a presumably massive production.

The news comes courtesy of Omega Underground who report that 20th Century Fox is hoping to roll cameras on their remake of Fantastic Voyage , a movie they've been planning for quite some time, early next year. It was reported back in January of this year by The Hollywood Reporter that Guillermo Del Toro was in talks to helm the remake for Fox, but no confirmation was ever made. Assuming this report is correct, it looks like that deal may have been made quietly behind closed doors.

The original Fantastic Voyage centered on a brilliant scientist named Jan Benes (Jean Del Val) who develops a way to shrink humans, and other objects, for brief periods of time. Benes, who is working in communist Russia, is transported by the CIA to America but is attacked en route. In order to save the scientist, who has developed a blood clot in his brain , a team of Americans in a nuclear submarine is shrunk and injected into Benes' body. They have a finite period of time to fix the clot and get out before the miniaturization wears off.

James Cameron was looking at directing the remake of The Fantastic Voyage at one point, but then the director decided he wanted to work on his four upcoming Avatar sequels instead. This report notes that Cameron is still set to produce The Fantastic Voyage alongside Jon Landau. Guillermo del Toro has shot his last three movies, Pacific Rim , Crimson Peak , and the upcoming The Shape of Water at Pinewood Toronto Studios. It is expected that this remake will shoot there as well, which lends even more credibility to Del Toro making this his next directorial effort.

The Fantastic Voyage does not currently have a release date, but it seems likely that the movie would come out in early 2019 if it does indeed wind up shooting in January. As it stands, the only other movie that Guillermo Del Toro is attached to direct is a dark version of Pinocchio , but there is no indication that would get in the way with him taking on this remake at the present time. If Fantastic Voyage really is shooting in roughly four months, we should start hearing about potential casting and get some sort of official announcement from Fox very soon. We will be sure to keep you up to date as more information on the project is made available.

• fantastic voyage

Guillermo del Toro’s Fantastic Voyage Remake to Film Next Fall

By Max Evry

Guillermo del Toro’s Fantastic Voyage remake to film next fall

It was over a year and a half ago that fan-fav director Guillermo del Toro ( Hellboy , Pacific Rim ) signed on to direct  20th Century Fox and Lightstorm Entertainment’s long-gestating Fantastic Voyage  remake. Now, Deadline is reporting that it will be del Toro’s next project after he completes work and promotion on his December 8 Fox Searchlight release, The Shape of Water . The original plan was to start production next spring for a holiday 2019 release, but with his Shape of Water commitments and potential award season activity, Fantastic Voyage will now restart its lengthy prep period in spring 2018 to begin production by fall 2018 at the latest, pushing the release to 2020.

Set to make use of the same 3D technology Cameron used for  Avatar ,  Fantastic Voyage  is about a scientist who is dying of a blood clot. His only chance for survival is for five scientist colleagues to be miniaturized in a ship called the Proteus, and injected into his bloodstream. The film is a remake of the 1966 original, directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Raquel Welch and Donald Pleasence.

The project would unite del Toro with his longtime friend James Cameron, and screenwriter David Goyer ( Batman Begins ,  Man of Steel ) who penned  Blade II . Cameron, Jon Landau, and Rae Sanchini are producing with Goyer in line to executive produce.

A  Fantastic Voyage   remake has been in the depths of development hell for many years with a revolving door of potential directors (Roland Emmerich, Paul Greengrass, Shawn Levy), stars (Will Smith, Hugh Jackman) and screenwriters (Shane Salerno, Laeta Kalogridis, Marianne & Cormac Wibberley). Although not an official Fantastic Voyage  remake, Joe Dante’s 1987 film Innerspace took a page or twelve from the original Fantastic Voyage in depicting a similar miniature trip through the human body.

Share article

The Fantastic Voyage Remake May Still Be Happening

You'd think with that all of the remakes that have been made in Hollywood, the one for Fantastic Voyage would have either already happened or sunk back to the bottom of the pile of potential revamps. Yet here we are, supposedly on the cusp of the film actually becoming a reality. It's resurfaced in the news with filming potentially beginning sometime in January 2018, and director Guillermo del Toro may still be in the running to helm the project.

News on the remake of the 1966 sci-fi film came from a source in Toronto, Ontario who is supposedly connected to the new Fantastic Voyage project, and their word is that production cycle for the 20th Century Fox-backed refresh will begin in January. It's an idea that certainly has legs, though the project has languished in development hell for quite some time. While James Cameron got the ball rolling, with his interest dating back to 1997, Fantastic Voyage would find itself passing over to a couple other directors as time went on. But now, the almost 20-year journey to production may be over with this fresh round of news.

In Fox's original version of the genre classic, the Cold War saw the U.S. and Russia developing rival programs involving miniaturized warfare. When a scientist defected to the U.S. program found himself in a coma, it was up to the American team to save him via their miniaturized sub, the Proteus. The film acted as part spy drama and part sci-fi thriller, with the bulk of its story taking place inside of the defector's body. So certainly part of the reason Fantastic Voyage has persevered past all of the hiccups in its path is the fact that the story has a premise outlandish enough that it just needs a modern update to be relevant to audiences of today. But the studio's efforts to get this film on track have already been quite extensive.

After James Cameron didn't work out in the director's chair, Roland Emmerich , Paul Greengrass and Shawn Levy would all succeed him as directorial candidates. Cameron stayed on the project as a producer, and he still remains involved to this day, but ultimately each of the other directors tipped for Fantastic Voyage would leave the project for their own reasons. Which brings us to the most recent talks involving the project, which took place early last year and mentioned Guillermo del Toro as the latest potential director and David S. Goyer and Justin Rhodes, who are currently drafting Green Lantern Corps together, as being the latest writers on the project.

While this might just sound like another director and writer team joining the annals of Fantastic Voyage history, the source involved with the project who spoke with Omega Underground is confident that del Toro will be continuing his work in the great city of Toronto with this new project. What also helps sweeten the deal is that Guillermo del Toro already has a film in the queue with Fox Searchlight, as The Shape of Water is currently slated for release this fall. A passion project for the director, he may have made an agreement with Fox proper that secured his participation on both films, allowing this long attempted remake to fast track itself into production.

As it stands now, not only does Guillermo del Toro seem like a perfect fit for a remake of Fantastic Voyage , but it's also a project he's probably excited to tackle. Unfortunately, this is all speculation at this point, and we'll have to wait for official confirmation before celebrating any sort of production curse being broken on the project. Surely this news item will spur some updates on the exact fate of Fantastic Voyage . In the meantime, Guillermo del Toro fans can enjoy The Shape of Water after it starts its theatrical debut in limited release on December 8.

CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER

Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News

Mike Reyes is the Senior Movie Contributor at CinemaBlend, though that title’s more of a guideline really. Passionate about entertainment since grade school, the movies have always held a special place in his life, which explains his current occupation. Mike graduated from Drew University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, but swore off of running for public office a long time ago. Mike's expertise ranges from James Bond to everything Alita, making for a brilliantly eclectic resume. He fights for the user.

‘We Are In A Unique Position’: Tallulah Willis Opens Up About Dealing With Bruce Willis’ Health Battle Publicly And Why It’s So Important

How Magic Mike Is Factoring Into Channing Tatum And Jenna Dewan’s Legal Battle

The NFL Created Special Rules Only Tom Brady May Have To Follow As A Broadcaster

Most Popular

• 2 A Law And Order: SVU Fan Went Off About The Show 'Going Woke.' Ice-T Did Not Hold Back
• 3 ‘I Never Feel Freer Than When I’m Under The Mask’: It Sounds Tough, But Ryan Reynolds Gets Real About One Big Pro To Being Covered As Deadpool All The Time
• 4 Stephen King's Love Of A Canceled TV Fan-Fave Sparks Hope For A Renewal
• 5 Big Brother Season 26 Just Showed Me The 'A.I. Arena' Needs To Be A Permanent Fixture In Future Seasons

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Fantastic Voyage

When a blood clot renders a scientist comatose, a submarine and its crew are shrunk and injected into his bloodstream in order to save him. When a blood clot renders a scientist comatose, a submarine and its crew are shrunk and injected into his bloodstream in order to save him. When a blood clot renders a scientist comatose, a submarine and its crew are shrunk and injected into his bloodstream in order to save him.

• Richard Fleischer
• Harry Kleiner
• David Duncan
• Otto Klement
• Stephen Boyd
• Raquel Welch
• Edmond O'Brien
• 150 User reviews
• 82 Critic reviews
• 72 Metascore
• 4 wins & 6 nominations total

Top cast 17

• Cora Peterson

• General Carter

• Dr. Michaels

• Col. Donald Reid

• Capt. Bill Owens

• Communications Aide

• Secret Service

• Wireless Operator

• Military Policeman
• (uncredited)

• Dr. Sawyer - Hypothermia Technician

• Henry - Heart Monitoring
• Young Scientist
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia Medical schools, at least as late as the 1980s, showed clips from this movie to illustrate various concepts in human anatomy, physiology, and especially immunology.
• Goofs The amount of radioactive material for the sub would not need a lead carrying case. Grant proves this by removing the container from the case with no protection and handing it to Owens who inserts it into the reactor, again bare-handed.

[as the submarine enters the brain]

Dr. Duval : Yet all the suns that light the corridors of the universe shine dim before the blazing of a single thought...

Grant : ...proclaiming in incandescent glory the myriad mind of Man.

Dr. Michaels : Very poetic, gentlemen. Let me know when we pass the soul.

Dr. Duval : The soul? The finite mind cannot comprehend infinity, and the soul, which comes from God, is infinite.

Dr. Michaels : Yes, but our time isn't.

• Alternate versions The DVD edition has the following prologue: "The makers of this film are indebted to the many doctors, technicians and research scientists, whose knowledge and insight helped guide this production" The TV/Video version features this prologue instead: "This film will take you where no one has ever been before; no eye witness has actually seen what you are about to see. But in this world of ours where going to the moon will soon be upon us and where the most incredible things are happening all around us, someday, perhaps tomorrow, the fantastic events you are about to see can and will take place."
• Connections Edited into Attack of the 50 Foot Monster Mania (1999)

User reviews 150

• Nazi_Fighter_David
• Jun 20, 2008
• How long is Fantastic Voyage? Powered by Alexa
• Wasn't this movie based on an Isaac Asimov tale?
• When do they get injected into the patient's body?
• September 23, 1966 (Japan)
• United States
• Microscopia
• Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena - 3939 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California, USA (interior corridors of CMDF headquarters traversed by golf carts and people walking)
• Twentieth Century Fox
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $5,115,000 (estimated)

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 40 minutes

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed.

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

• About Rotten Tomatoes®
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening This Week
• Top Box Office
• Coming Soon to Theaters
• Certified Fresh Movies

Movies at Home

• Fandango at Home
• Prime Video
• Most Popular Streaming Movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• 73% Blink Twice Link to Blink Twice
• 96% Strange Darling Link to Strange Darling
• 86% Between the Temples Link to Between the Temples

New TV Tonight

• 96% Only Murders in the Building: Season 4
• 86% The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Season 2
• 95% Terminator Zero: Season 1
• 70% Kaos: Season 1
• 83% City of God: The Fight Rages On: Season 1
• -- Here Come the Irish: Season 1
• -- K-Pop Idols: Season 1
• -- Horror's Greatest: Season 1
• -- After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

• 100% Dark Winds: Season 2
• 92% Bad Monkey: Season 1
• 78% Star Wars: The Acolyte: Season 1
• 100% Pachinko: Season 2
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV

Certified fresh pick

• 86% The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Season 2 Link to The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Season 2
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

The Best Shows on Amazon Prime Video to Watch Right Now (August 2024)

100 Best Netflix Series To Watch Right Now (August 2024)

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

Awards Tour

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice First Reviews: Michael Keaton’s Return as Betelgeuse is Worth the Wait

13 Must-Watch Films at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival

• Trending on RT
• Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
• TV Premiere Dates
• Venice Film Festival
• Renewed and Cancelled TV

Fantastic Voyage

Where to watch.

Rent Fantastic Voyage on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

What to Know

The special effects may be a bit dated today, but Fantastic Voyage still holds up well as an imaginative journey into the human body.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Richard Fleischer

Stephen Boyd

Raquel Welch

Cora Peterson

Edmond O'Brien

General Carter

Donald Pleasence

Dr. Michaels

Arthur O'Connell

Colonel Donald Reid

More Like This

Related movie news.

First Look at Pedro Pascal’s New ‘Fantastic Four’ Movie Surfaces

The Avengers are gearing up to face significant challenges as the franchise delves into the Multiverse Saga, which spans Phases Four, Five, and Six. Led by Marvel President Kevin Feige, this expansive storyline will culminate in upcoming films like Avengers 5 (formerly titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty ) and Avengers 6 (known as Avengers: Secret Wars ).

As the original Avengers team steps back during the Multiverse Saga, the MCU is set to introduce new superhero teams, including the highly anticipated Fantastic Four and X-Men, finally bringing these iconic Marvel characters into the spotlight .

From San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) Hall H to D23 Expo, and a recent pre-reboot Fantastic Four cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), these Fantastic Four heroes are generating considerable buzz.

New First Looks, Leaks for Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four is a legendary team in the Marvel Comics universe, playing a crucial role in many key Marvel comic book storylines. The team is consistently led by the brilliant Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards, alongside the nurturing Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, the fiery and impulsive Human Torch/Johnny Storm, and the strong yet gentle The Thing/Ben Grimm, to make up Marvel’s “First Family”.

These characters have been central figures in Marvel Comics for years, standing alongside other major heroes like the X-Men and Spider-Man. On the big screen, the Fantastic Four made their debut even before iconic MCU characters like Iron Man/Tony Stark and Captain America/Steve Rogers, famously portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, respectively.

The following contains possible spoilers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

There’ve been some new first looks/leaks at The Fantastic Four: First Steps on set, from the Fantasticar takeoff to The Thing in costume.

First up, the Fantasticar takeoff was filmed recently, as shared by UnBoxPHD on X/Twitter. The look of the whole set and theming looks decidedly 1960s — a style already teased in the existing promotional images:

The director told the extras to look up and wave and cheer as the Fantasticar took off. Then, everyone turned around and the director told them to do the same, this time welcoming back the Fantasticar. American Flags were also waved. The landing pod is complete.

The director told the extras to look up and wave and cheer as the Fantasticar took off. Then, everyone turned around and the director told them to do the same, this time welcoming back the Fantasticar. American Flags were also waved. The landing pod is complete. pic.twitter.com/EqdixxKTUO — UnBoxPHD (@UnBoxPHD) August 30, 2024

Another major leak from the recent filming of the new Fantastic Four movie is a first look at The Thing, originally reported on X/Twitter in a now-deleted post from user @vaporpanther .

Screen Rant

Guillermo del toro confirms fantastic voyage filming start date.

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Rey Will Officially Be The Last Skywalker

20 movies that francis ford coppola highly recommends you watch: "appreciation to the pictures that inspired me", tom hanks' eerie moment in saving private ryan's d-day opening clarified by historian (& yes, it's accurate).

Guillermo del Toro is still attached to the forthcoming remake of Fantastic Voyage  - despite his plans to take a year off from directing. The filmmaker is currently enjoying rave reviews (and intense awards buzz) for his movie The Shape of Water . This romantic fairytale features a mute woman falling in love with a humanoid fish creature, and the film is already being dubbed del Toro’s masterpiece.

The Shape of Water is del Toro’s first movie since Pacific Rim and follows the director’s pattern of making a smaller, more personal movie after a big blockbuster. In the past, he’s followed Mimic with The Devil’s Backbone , and Hellboy with Pan’s Labyrinth . The director recently announced he was taking a break from directing and was going to focus on promoting The Shape Of Water for the time being.

Related:  Guillermo del Toro Is Taking A Year Off From Directing

He talked about his reasons for taking time off in an interview with Collider , and also gave an update on the status of Fantastic Voyage . He’s still attached to direct the sci-fi adventure, and there’s even a start date pencilled in for the movie:

“That was on the calendar already. I announced the year in September, and if everything goes well and it happens, it would happen next September. We’d start prepping again. We had already delayed it. It is a very difficult movie, technically, and I needed to figure out a bunch of stuff. We’ve been doing R&D and we’ve been building stuff. I never know whether they’re going to happen or not. I’ve learned that, in 25 years. But, we’re still working on it.”

Hopefully, Fantastic Voyage will eventually move ahead with del Toro still attached, but fans have learned its best to be careful. At the beginning of 2017 del Toro announced Hellboy III was definitely never happening, and a reboot starring David Harbour was later confirmed. The filmmaker also spent a year developing a two-part adaptation of The Hobbit , only to leave and be replaced by producer Peter Jackson - and the mere mention of cancelled sequel  Silent Hills is enough to bring a tear to the eyes of video game fans.

Fantastic Voyage is a project that’s been in development for years, with directors like Roland Emmerich, Paul Greengrass, and James Cameron attached at different points (Cameron is still onboard the project as producer). Cameron and del Toro have been friends for many years and previously tried to mount an ambitious, R-rated take on H.P. Lovecraft’s At The Mountains Of Madness starring Tom Cruise. Sadly, the cost involved wound up killing that project before it could begin. Hopefully, Fantastic Voyage won’t end up the same way.

MORE:  Guillermo del Toro Worked On Pacific Rim 2

Source: Collider

• Fantastic Voyage