In the summer of 2011 a rumor emerged that David Lindsay-Abaire, the acclaimed Rabbit Hole playwright and screenwriter, had been approached to write the script for a remake of Poltergeist. At the time he was uncertain if it was a job he wanted to undertake, but it appears circumstances have changed as he recently confirmed with Shocktilyoudrop that he's writing it now.
So what changed? Most likely it has to do with Sam Raimi, who was once targeted for the director's gig but took over as producer, instead. The two share a pretty close association, as Lindsay-Abaire wrote Raimi's Oz the Great and Powerful, and apparently took a shot at the script for Spider-Man 4. Raimi also was eying a film adaptation of Rabbit Hole, which ultimately went to John Cameron Mitchell.
Lindsay-Abaire will be starting from scratch and ignoring the previous scripts that have been out there for awhile. Despite this being another in a sudden rash of horror remakes, it's hard not to be excited considering the enthusiastic response to Raimi's Evil Dead. Lindsay-Abaire also wrote the script for Dreamworks Animation's Rise of the Guardians, which opens on November 21st.
