Roger Corman is making Death Race 2050

Death Race 2000 is one of the true pulp masterpieces to come out of Roger Corman’s cheap-thrill movie factory. The 1975 film introduced a dystopian society where cross-country racers murdered pedestrians for sport – a dark vision of the future that suggests everything from The Hunger Games to the media coverage of O.J.’s white Bronco chase.

The film received a soft, vague remake in 2008, when Jason Statham starred in the film Death Race – which, society being what it is, led to a pair of direct-to-DVD sequels. Now, Corman himself will be producing Death Race 2050, a sequel to the original film. In a press release from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, the studio announced that filming of 2050 has begun in Peru. The new movie will star Spartacus heavy Manu Bennet as iconic anti-hero Frankenstein, alongside Malcolm McDowell as a character named The Chairman. The film’s directed by GJ Echternkamp and has a script written by Matt Yamashita. (Matt Yamashita wrote Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda, and you didn’t.)

Look for Death Race 2050 to hit home screens sometime this year.