The people behind the maybe-not-a-great-idea remake of Carrie had the chance to justify the whole effort by doing once simple thing: casting Sissy Spacek as Carrie’s mom. The actress who originated the role of the telekinetic teenager would have been able to act circles around her replacement, Chloe Moretz, but also establish a nice link to the past, enabling this remake to acknowledge its predecessors, hand a meaty role to a veteran and bring on someone legitimately terrifying in this monster-mom role, all in a single swoop.

But of course, they’re not going to do that, just like they didn’t cast someone with the necessarily vulnerability to play Carrie and brought in Moretz instead. But happily, they maybe have miraculously brought in someone who can do as much justice to the role as Piper Laurie did in the 70s. According to Bloody Disgusting, Columbia Pictures is in talks with Julianne Moore to take over the role. The film is set for a March 13, 2013 release, which means they’ll have to move fast to secure an actress and get production started. And Moore really does seem well-suited to the role, with a good mix of intensity and her own vulnerability that might help you believe not just her terrifying presence, but how she might really be Carrie’s mother to begin with.

With Kimberly Peirce on board to direct, Carrie can’t quite be written off as your standard knockoff horror remake, but it’s hard to know exactly what to make of it at all. Moore signing on might indicate a little more quality, but then again she’s made plenty of crap over the years as well. More importantly, do you think she’s right for the role? Let us know in the comments below.