Speak No Evil's James McAvoy says he's "never seen the problem" with remaking films: "Great stories can be told again and again"

It's no secret that when James Watkins' new take on Speak No Evil was first announced, just a year on from the Danish original's release, people had thoughts . Horror fans flocked to social media to wonder aloud as to the benefits of a Hollywood version, as they drew attention to the fact that much of Christian Tafrdup's film is in English anyway. James McAvoy, however, has "never seen the problem" with remaking certain movies, especially when it could lead audiences back to the titles in which they're based.

"When I did Macbeth, I didn't remake Macbeth," the actor, who plays antagonist Paddy Feld in the new movie, tells GamesRadar+ and Inside Total Film . "Yeah, it had been done a gazillion, thousand million times before but great stories can be told again and again, especially when audiences haven't seen them the first time around. Did the larger film-going community go and see the original film? No.

Are they going to go and see the original film? Maybe now they will, if they've seen this one and they go, 'I'd love to see that other version.' So I think there's no problem, and I've never seen the problem." Written and directed by Watkins, whose previous works include Eden Lake and The Woman in Black, Speak No Evil centers on Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise (Mackenzie Davis), an American couple who have grown distant since uprooting their life to London.

While holidaying in Italy, the pair and their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) strike up a fast friendship with a gregario.