Danya Jimenez and Hannah McMeachan, the writing duo behind the Netflix animated hit KPop Demon Hunters, have landed their next major gig. He has been tapped to write the screenplay for Tim Burton’s re-imagined Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman.
Burton will direct and produce alongside producers Andrew Mittman and Tommy Harper. Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap is also producing and developing the project, with Kai Dolbassian serving as executive producer and Morgan Begg directing LuckyChap.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news, confirming Jimenez and McMeekan’s involvement, and noting that Warner Bros. has been developing a remake starting in 2024. The industry also reported that Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl, Sharp Objects) had been named as the project’s writer before the new duo came on board.
In a statement shared with THR, the pair said, “We’re obsessed with the idea of a 50-foot woman wreaking havoc because a man defiled her, and we feel a lot of people can relate.”
With KPop Demon Hunter, Jimenez and McMeachan proved they can juggle big tonal swings, female-driven character comedy, and sharp observations without losing momentum. Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman is only as interesting as the perspective behind it, so this combination works here. A straight remake runs the risk of feeling like a novelty act. Rewriting with purpose can transform a premise into something more convincing.
LuckyChap is producing it, but will Margot Robbie star in it?
Lucky Chap’s involvement naturally raises the question of whether Margot Robbie, one of the production company’s co-founders, will helm the film. It has been reported for some time that she has not been appointed to the role, but nothing has been officially confirmed. It should also be noted that several major media outlets reporting on this new development, including The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, did not name Robbie as the star of their coverage. For now, the most obvious interpretation is that LuckyChap is holding on tight while the cast continues to move.
A cult classic with a long history of remakes.
The original 1958 film was an American independent science fiction horror directed by Nathan H. Juran, starring Alison Hayes as a wealthy heiress who grows to a gigantic size and turns her anger on her cheating husband and his opportunistic lover. Although the film, released theatrically as part of a double feature, was part of the wave of size mutation science fiction of the 1950s, along with titles such as The Amazing Giant and The Incredible Shrinking Man, Attack of the Fifty Feet Women stood out for putting women at the center of the spectacle.
Produced on a modest budget of approximately $88,000, the film did well enough to spark early sequel discussions, but nothing progressed beyond the screenplay stage. Over the decades, the land has been repeatedly used for remakes and reinterpretations, including abandoned development plans from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. It was remade on HBO in 1993, starring Daryl Hannah, and spawned a series of sarcastic spin-offs and parodies. Even animated features like Monsters vs. Aliens nod to the monstrous woman’s legacy.
