An English-remake of Juan Antonio Bayona's acclaimed 2007 horror flick, The Orphanage, has been in the works since... well, almost as long as the original film has been in existence.

Guillermo del Toro (who produced Bayona's Orphanage) is also producing the remake, which currently has Mark Pellington (Arlington Road, The Mothman Prophecies) set to direct, from a script written by Larry Fessenden (Wendigo, The Last Winter) and original Orphanage scriber Sergio G. Sánchez.

BD Horror News has been informed that New Line has held talks with Amy Adams about her headlining the film. Unlike the three time Oscar-nominated starlet's other upcoming movies (The Muppets, The Master, and Man of Steel), the Orphanage remake would essentially be a starring vehicle for Adams.

The Orphanage remake would feature Adams as Laura (Belén Rueda, in Bayona's film), a woman who moves with her family to take over the orphanage where she grew up, and re-open it as a care center for children with disabilities. In the original film, Laura's adopted son, Simón, finally begins to settle into this new lifestyle after he starts playing with what his mother believes to be an imaginary friend.

However, Simón vanishes on the same day that a mysterious child wearing a creepy burlap bag mask attacks Laura - which eventually leads her to uncover the truth about her son's "pretend friend" and the orphanage's dark past.

orphanage remake guillermo del toro

Bayona's Orphanage is (essentially) everything that last week's del Toro-produced (and co-written) Don't Be Afraid of the Dark remake is not. It boasts a genuinely moving performance by Rueda, appropriately creepy and Gothic atmosphere, some truly disturbing and gross imagery, as well as a nicely constructed storyline that uses the ideas of ghosts and supernatural entities in a fittingly metaphorical fashion.

The Orphanage is arguably not as spooky as some of the classic haunted house flicks, and its narrative isn't quite as densely structured as some of del Toro's directorial efforts (especially The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth) - but still, it is an overall memorable entry in the supernatural horror genre.

Adams has long been heralded for her ability to portray bright-eyed and innocent characters onscreen, but her turn in last year's The Fighter really demonstrated that she can be more emotionally-messy and rough around the edges, when need be. So the news that she could take on the role of Laura in the Orphanage remake is encouraging, despite the decidedly mixed collection of creative talents that are working on the project - and the general feeling that the remake is very much unnecessary.

We will keep you posted on the status of The Orphanage as more information is released.

Source: BD Horror News