Accidentally-Correct Writing: Oddly, the drunken Riverboat captain's statement in Revenge of the Creature that the Creature is "stronger than that which you call evolution" was probably a more accurate explanation for how evolution actually works than the "scientists" who seem to believe that a "living fossil" like the creature is "less evolved" than more recent creatures and that the Amazon has never changed since the Devonian. The truth is, "Living Fossils" happen because the plant or animal have achieved a form that's more-or-less ideal to their environment. As long as they can find a place close to their original habitat, any major deviation from their current body type would be a hinderance than a perk. Evolution didn't stop so minor changes might happen, but large overhauls became subdued. Evolution isn't about an end point, just what works at the time and circumstances.
California Doubling: The Brazilian Jungle was actually the Silver River of Florida; you can even see a light post at one point!
Development Hell: A remake has been in varying stages of development for nearly four decades at this point.
In 1982, John Landis was set to produce a 3D remake with a script by Nigel Kneale, which would have focused on two Creatures being pursued by the US Military. Landis was looking to bring Jack Arnold back to direct, but Joe Dante was on standby to replace him if his health became a problem. The performance of Jaws 3-D caused Universal to back down and cancel the project. Interestingly, the script for this version reveals its actually a Stealth Sequel, with the creature possibly being the same one from the original trilogy fully healed and somehow back in the lagoon.
Development started up again in 1992, this time with John Carpenter attached to direct. The script, written by Bill Phillips, featured a scientific expedition visiting the Black Lagoon to explore a series of underwater pyramids that had been found there, with the Gill Man the sole surviving inhabitant. This version fell apart when Carpenter agreed to do Village of the Damned (1995) for Universal in exchange for green lighting his Creature remake, but the studio reneged on the deal.
Multiple directors were attached throughout the 90s. Peter Jackson was offered the job, but turned it down in favor of what eventually became King Kong (2005). Others included John Landis (again) and Ivan Reitman. Reitman's version was a drastic change, as it didn't even involve a lagoon (instead taking place on a tropical Florida resort that happened to be named 'the Black Lagoon') and borrowed liberally from Jurassic Park, with the creature even being described as a "like an aquatic velociraptor". It was also significantly darker, with the implication the creature also rapes its female victims; this was probably why Universal turned it down.
The next phase of development started when Gary Ross, son of the original film's writer Arthur A. Ross, signed on to produce a remake in 2001. The next year, Guillermo del Toro was going to direct and wanted to do a story set in the Victorian Age, and allow the Creature to be successful in his romance with the female lead. A combination of the studio balking at the latter idea and Del Toro's crowded schedule led him to leave the project, eventually recycling some of his ideas in The Shape of Water.
Next, a script was written by Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines scribe Tedi Sarafian, which was later rewritten by Ross. It featured a tourist couple with a failing marriage who fell in with the crew of a research ship called the Daedalus, and eventually came across the Black Lagoon, described as an area that became isolated and evolved along different lines from the rest of the world, full of life with extraordinary properties. The scientists, wanting to study the lagoon for the benefit of humanity, eventually butt heads with the economically minded pharmaceutical company employees on board as to what to do with the lagoon and the creature that lives there. At one point, Ross described the Creature as being created by pollution, but this isn't borne out by any of the available scripts.
After a few more years of development, Breck Eisner signed on to direct, revising the script as well. He wanted to film on location in the Amazon itself, but the production was halted by the 2007-8 writers' strike.
Development continued sporadically for a few years, with David Kajganich (Suspiria (2018)) signed on to write in 2012. The title at this point was rumored to have been abbreviated to simply The Black Lagoon, as a way to differentiate it from the original.
Finally, around 2015 a new version, with Jeff Pinkner (The Amazing Spider-Man 2) and Will Beall (Aquaman (2018)) attached to write, and Scarlett Johansson in talks to star. This version was meant to tie in with the then-upcoming Dark Universe, but the failure of The Mummy (2017) and Universal's subsequent change of plans for their Monster properties have likely killed it. Comments on the script for this version revealed that it contained an underwater base with different kinds of monsters in it, a rocket launcher battle, and an ending where Jekyll arrived to recruit the Creature.
What Could Have Been: The original plan for Zee's death was to have Gill Man throw him towards the screen, which would have made for perfect 3D fodder. Malfunctioning equipment forced the makers to abandon it.
Trivia for the pinball machine:
Cut Song: "At the Hop" was planned to have been included as one of the songs, but it was removed from the final version, as it was too cost prohibitive. The voice clips for the song can be found via PinMAME.
Real Song Theme Tune: Creature has five 1950s songs for its main play theme: "Rock Around the Clock", "Get a Job", "Summertime Blues", "Willie and the Hand Jive", and "Red River Rock". Due to rights issues, "Get A Job" and "Summertime Blues" aren't in the Pinball Arcade version, which assigns one of each remaining song to each ball: "Hand Jive" for the first ball, "Red River Rock" to the second, and "Rock Around the Clock" to the third.
Referenced by...: The "MOVE YOUR CAR!" mode is commonly referenced in other pinball machines.
The "Drive-In Demolition" mode from Revenge from Mars has the exact same premise.
During the "Hat Magic" illusion in Theatre of Magic, the third item produced out of the hat is a telephone. The person on the other end yells "MOVE YOUR CAR!".
Scared Stiff references the quote in its Match Sequence (which consists of Elvira flipping through several TV channels, each of which play a quote from a previous Williams table).
In Indianapolis 500, the ending for "Wrong Turn" shows an Indy car stuck in a traffic jam, whereupon someone shouts, "Move your car!"
The "Joe's Diner" mode from The Flintstones has a similar premise; instead of an irate moviegoer at a drive-in, it's an impatient drive-thru customer at a drive-thru. The exact same animation of the guy shouting "MOVE YOUR CAR!" (minus the drive-in setting, obviously) was recycled for this new mode.
for this version revealed that it contained an underwater base with different kinds of monsters in it, a rocket launcher battle, and an ending where Jekyll arrived to recruit the Creature.