Variety is exclusively reporting that Universal Pictures are currently developing a remake of The Night of the Hunter, a 1955 film adaptation based on the novel by Davis Grubb.

The Night of the Hunter follows a religious fanatic, con man and murderer named Reverend Harry Powell, who marries a widow knowing that her deceased husband had hid $10,000 from authorities following a bank robbery. The widow’s young children are reluctant to tell him where their real dad hid the money as Powell plots more sinister ways to find where to locate the cash.

The original film starred Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, Billy Chapin and Sally Jane Bruce.

Little is known about the new project, according to the article, but it is expected to be a contemporary version of the original thriller, rather than being a period piece. The script is set to be written by Operation Finale screenwriter Matt Orton, with Amy Pascal serving as producer under her Pascal Pictures banner alongside Peter Gethers. Universal’s senior VP of Production Jay Polidoro will oversee the project on behalf of the studio.