Nearly four decades after John Carpenter turned Steven King’s Christine novel into a horror movie about a car with a mind of its own—both works came out in 1983— it looks like the motion picture is getting a reboot. The new movie, which is currently in the initial development phase over at Sony Pictures and Blumhouse, is keeping fans on their toes, as nothing is set in stone yet. As such, American performance developer SpeedKore and digital artist Abimelec Design have taken the lore into their own hands, coming up with a rendering that portrays a heavily restomodded iteration of the 1958 Plymouth Fury known as Christine.
Thanks to the creative genius of King and Carpenter, the original movie remains one of the best-known movies of the 1980s and a podium-grade killer car motion picture to this day. Thus, it was only natural for the story to re-enter Hollywood’s attention.
The Christine remake: what we know so far
However, while the independent rendering we have here talks about a sequel—a follow-up to the original events—the studio announcements on the topic hint at a remake, which would most likely tell the story in a different manner.
For the record, Hannibal TV series director Bryan Fuller is currently handling the Christine remake, while the executive producer list is expected to include Jason Blum, Vincenzo Natali and Steven Hoban. As for the Sony Pictures involvement, this should see Peter Kang supervising the project. Now, regarding the role Steven King has in this affair, this remains unknown for the time being.
As we mentioned, certainties on the matter are few and far between. However, when talking to Collider last October, Jason Blum stated that the script for Fuller’s movie had been finalized: “We actually recently got a script, which was terrific. We’re going to try and make it into a movie. That’s my plan,“
Spoiler alert: Christine gets in pretty bad shape at the end of the OG movie, as this is a close representation of the novel. However, whether the expected new picture would follow this line or introduce a story that paints a prettier picture for the blood-thirsty automobile, it’s likely that the Plymouth will get quite a bit of work done to it before facing the cameras.
And since the Wisconsin-based SpeedKore is no stranger to providing machines for big studio productions (think: Fast and Furious franchise) and celebrity rides, we can see how they came up with the idea of overhauling Christine for her expected new role.
Besides, this is only the latest installment of a digital franchise that has seen SpeedKore and Abimelec Design providing eye candy and food for thought via exquisite CGI projects like this tube chassis Plymouth Cuda AAR.
1958 Plymouth Fury Christine becomes “Hellafurious” in this rendering
We’re not sure what sort of desires the new Christine would experience, but, at least in this rendered form, she’d be fit for a much wider range of duties. After all, Abimelec Arellano, to use the artist’s real name, has rendered it with a full carbon body, a signature SpeedKore move.
Then again, that red gloss tint for the carbon doesn’t seem particularly friendly, so we wouldn’t keep our fingers crossed for less danger. However, we’d bet on some extra velocity, since the shaved engine bay now accommodates a Hellephant 426 (here’s a Hellephant in a mundane-no-more Chrysler 300). The 7-liter supercharged crate engine has been dressed up to remind us of its ancestors (e.g. orange heads).
The steelies are here to stay, even though dealing with all that power means they’re much wider, while the fins at the back now pack a complex aero profile.
As for the cabin transformation, the idea was to preserve the feeling of the original, which is why only the materials were refined, with Alcantara and leather now adorning the interior—better not splash anything in there!
And with a recipe that’s perfectly fit for the “typical” six-figure SpeedKore build, a nickname matching the specialist’s nomenclature was mandatory, which is why you are now gazing at Hellafurious.
