It’s pretty easy to see why everyone loves reboots. They offer up a healthy dose of nostalgia, and give parents a chance to share some of their beloved memories with their kids. As such, movie and television reboots have been a prime export of Hollywood for years now and they don’t seem to be showing any signs of letting up. Mad Max, Godzilla, Fantastic Four, Ghostbusters, while some these re-imaginings have been universally praised (Mad Max: Fury Road) the more likely outcome is that they’ll be universally panned (Fantastic Four), but there almost never fails to be a huge amount of hype and exceedingly high expectations leading up to their release (Ghostbusters), which is probably why production studios will never stop churning them out. And with that said, here are 12 more movies you might not have known were getting a remake.
15. I Know What You Did Last Summer
The horror genre is rife with remakes, so it’s little surprise to see that Hollywood is already dipping into successful slasher flicks from the ’90s for ideas. I Know What You Did Last Summer was a huge hit in October 1997 and helped make its young cast (which included Jennifer Love Hewitt and Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar) household names. It also spawned one pretty terrible theatrical sequel and an even worse direct-to-video one, but the original is still remembered fondly alongside other ’90s horror hits such as Scream. The remake is being handled by Oculus director Mike Flanagan, who is reportedly going back to Lois Duncan’s 1973 novel of the same name for inspiration. Sony is apparently pretty high on this one and estimates a release somewhere between 2018-2020.
14. The Craft
Starring Fairuza Balk, Robin Tunney, Rachel True, and a pre-Scream Neve Campbell, the 1996 supernatural horror film The Craft has become a popular teen cult classic, so it’s hardly surprising to hear that no one associated with the original seems to want anything to do with the proposed sequel/remake Sony Pictures is working on. The new film will see Honeymoon director Leigh Janiak write and direct, with Phil Graziadei serving as co-writer. Fairuza Balk in particular shared her distaste for the project in a 2015 tweet, stating that remakes in general “tend to be a bad idea.” Nothing has been heard from the project since 2016, but it’s fair to say that Sony Pictures is going to have a tough sell with this one.
13. Cliffhanger
Cliffhanger is a fun 1993 action film starring Sylvester Stallone as a ranger fighting a villain played by the always great John Lithgow on a mountain. For years, there was talk of making a sequel called (we kid you not) The Dam, but nothing ever materialized. Then in 2009, there was talk of a reboot from producer Neal Moritz, who’s worked on other reboots like Total Recall and 21 Jump Street. In 2014, it was reported that Joe Gazzam was attached to write the script, but there hasn’t been any mention of anything Cliffhanger-related since 2015, when Stallone posted on Instagram that he would love to do a Cliffhanger sequel, casting doubt on whether the reboot was still happening or not. Still, nothing has been officially cancelled yet, so there’s still a chance that we’ll be riding up the mountain again at some point in the future.
12. The Birds
Yes, people are actually still trying to remake Alfred Hitchcock films. Based on Daphne du Maurier’s 1952 story of the same name, Hitchcock’s 1963 The Birds is an influential horror-thriller that spawned a terrible, unrelated sequel, The Birds II: Land’s End, in 1994. Universal has actually been trying to get a remake off the ground since 2007, when it was reported that Casino Royale director Martin Campbell would be helming the new film, with Naomi Watts set to star. However, by 2009 Campbell was out and replaced by Dennis Illadis, but it looks like the project stalled out soon after that. More recently, it was announced in August 2017 that the BBC is making a TV series based on The Birds to be broadcast in 2018. The series is being produced by David Heyman (Harry Potter) and is said to adhere closely to Daphne du Maurier’s original text, though the setting has been changed from northern California to Cornwall.
11. Big Trouble in Little China
Until recently, this was one of the few John Carpenter movies that seemed like it would escape the Hollywood remake machine, but then news broke in 2016 that not only is a remake in the works, but that Kurt Russell has even given the project his blessing. On the bright side, Dwayne Johnson is set to star and has already voiced his desire to see Carpenter involved with the remake in some capacity (though according to Carpenter, “no one’s talked to me about it.”) The script is being penned by Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz (X-Men: First Class) but as of this writing, there is no director attached and no release date. Considering Johnson’s busy schedule, it could be some time still before we see the Rock-powered Big Trouble in Little China.
10. Dune
Alright, so there’s a good chance you already know that Dune is being remade but considering this is one of the few remakes on this list that is arguably worth getting excited about, we felt like we had to include it. Based on Frank Hebert’s epic science fiction novel of the same name, the original Dune adaptation was directed by David Lynch and released in 1984. While the Lynch’s film has its fair share of fans, it’s widely considered to be a poor adaptation of Hebert’s book. Fortunately, the reboot is pretty much a best-case scenario for Dune fans, as Denis Villeneuve, the auteur director behind films such as Sicario and Arrival, is attached to direct. Having already proven naysayers wrong with the incredible Blade Runner 2049 — a film that arguably tops Ridley Scott’s 1982 original — it’s hard to think of a director working today more up to the task of finally doing Dune justice on the big screen.
9. Escape From New York
Believe it or not, producers have been trying to get an Escape From New York remake off the ground for over a decade, with Gerard Butler originally set to star as Snake Plissken, the iconic antihero played by Kurt Russell in John Carpenter’s 1981 original. Many different names have been attached to the film since that time and according to a March 2017 report, Robert Rodriguez is now attached to direct, with Carpenter serving as producer. The role of Snake Plissken still hasn’t been officially filled, but Carpenter’s involvement is at least a reassuring sign that this could be a halfway decent remake. Still, considering the original film is a bona fide cult classic at this point, does the world really need another Escape From New York?
8. Highlander
This planned remake of the mystic katana-wielding cult classic has been brewing for since 2009, with Summit Entertainment finally settling on Chad Stahelski (John Wick) to direct in 2016. has been trying to nail down a director and cast. The lead role of immortal Scotsman Connor MacLeod remains unfilled, with Ryan Reynolds originally being attached but then dropping out to pursue other options. In a 2017 interview with Collider, Stahelski said that he is planning for his reboot to be the first installment in a new Highlander trilogy. Last we heard, Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, Spectre) is still set to play Kurgan—the arch-nemesis of MacLeod. At one point Tom Cruise was also rumored to be joining the cast as Ramirez, the man who trains MacLeod who was portrayed by Sean Connery in the original; however, we’re not really expecting that casting choice to pan out. There are also rumors that original star Christopher Lambert could make an appearance, something that is sure to please fans of the franchise if true.
7. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Speaking of Sean Connery, here’s another one of his movies that are being remade. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is based on a comic book that features famous fictional characters like Captain Nemo and Dr. Jekyll joining forces to fight evil-doers. Although the the comic has always been well-received, the 2003 movie was full of plot holes and basically just showed the heroes doing a bunch of stuff without any real motives. There are a lot of fans of the source material out there who are hopeful the reboot will rectify the mistakes from the last movie and revitalize the franchise. Unfortunately, there have been no new details about the reboot since 2015, when producer John Davis revealed that the film would be female-centric, citing the success of Mad Max: Fury Road as an inspiration.
6. The Naked Gun
Detective Frank Drebin is set to hit the streets again with Ed Helms on board to reprise the role originally portrayed by Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun series of comedies. Helms will have some pretty big shoes to fill considering the original Naked Gun films pretty much owe all of their success to the charms and style of deadpan humor Nielsen brought to the character. But chances are the comedy stylings of the new Frank Drebin will be in an entirely different league that will play up the large emotional reactions and frequent musical interludes that Helms has become known for.
David Zucker, the film’s original director, has stated that he isn’t a fan of the reboot’s casting choice and that he would have preferred an actor who was a relative unknown in the comedy scene. In any case, despite there being few updates about the state of production over the past year, Ed Helms is still attached. We’re pretty anxious to find out who the studio casts for O.J. Simpson’s character.
5. Charlie’s Angels
It’s getting pretty hard to keep track of just how many times this franchise has been rebooted. After the wildly popular ’70s TV series, there was the 2000 movie remake which was successful enough to spawn an awful sequel. That then led to the awful 2011 TV reboot which, unsurprisingly, only lasted four episodes before ABC pulled the plug on it. The major problem seems to be that studio executives don’t seem to realize that the show’s concept doesn’t really translate all that well for today’s audience—mostly because it was somewhat degrading towards women.
When Charlie’s Angels first debuted in 1976, it was during a time when telling your secretary to dress a little sexier or giving them a slap on the ass as a show of gratitude was acceptable workplace behavior. Needless to say, we’ve progressed a little bit since then and most people don’t have any nostalgic feelings about reliving those days. Now, that’s not to say that the latest TV remake didn’t attempt to move away from this idea, but with audiences already associating the title with the sexist show that it once was, there were probably lots of people who didn’t even consider tuning in. And, to be fair, a TV show or movie about a trio of female super spies is a pretty kick-ass idea, it’s just unfortunate that it always needs to be tied to the Charlie’s Angels context. However, there’s still a glimmer of hope for the new movie that comes in the form of Elizabeth Banks taking on directorial duties.
4. The Crow
Thanks to The Crow’s dedicated cult following, the planned movie reboot that has been stuck in development hell since 2011 is still moving forward. Initially, Bradley Cooper was attached for the lead role, but after legal issues delayed production Cooper was dropped, leading to the announcement that Mark Wahlberg was going to take on the part. However, he also dropped out so the role was then passed on to Luke Evans, who likewise dropped out, leading to the casting of Jack Huston who, of course, was later dropped.
After all the casting changes, as well as just as many director changes, the production studio for the film (Relativity Media) went bankrupt in 2015, leading to another irritating production stall. Filming was supposed to start in early 2016 with Corn Hardy in the director’s seat, but, as it would happen, he dropped out too. Then, in 2017, Sony Pictures picked up the long-gestating project, but no
3. Predator
Okay, technically this is going to be a direct sequel to the 1987 movie, but after the lackluster 2010 Predators movie, this is definitely an attempt to re-reboot the franchise.
Eyeing a 2018 release date, The Predator will be directed by Shane Black (writer of Iron Man 3 and the Lethal Weapon movies) and could see the return of Arnold, as fans seem to think the film will be returning to its roots with a team of tough-as-nails action heroes taking on the alien murder machine. This would probably be a welcome premise after watching Adrien Brody’s pathetic attempt at badassery in Predators. Although, now that we think about it, despite Predator being one of the most iconic aliens in pop culture spanning all forms of media, the original film was really the only good movie to ever feature the blade-wielding extraterrestrial hunters. Let’s face it, the movie could probably star Justin Beiber and Jaden Smith fighting space creatures on a boat cruise. As long as “Predator” is in the title, we’ll probably go see it.
2. Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon has had a pretty turbulent history since the character first appeared on screen in 1936. Since then he’s appeared in a 13-picture science fiction film series, a ’50s TV series, a ’70s movie, an ’80s movie and cartoon show, and a failed 2007 Syfy show. Production details are still pretty spotty at this time, but thanks to an interview conducted by the people over at Den of Geek, we’ve learned that Matthew Reilly, VP of production at Fox Studios, acquired the screenplay rights to Flash Gordon in 2014, and he hired producer John Davis (Predator, Chronicle, Man From U.N.C.L.E.) and his staff to write the script.
No word yet on who will be playing the title character, but Sam J. Jones, who played the hero in the ’80s movie (which many people consider to be the definitive version), joked about the prospect of the studio going with a younger model, promising to outdo him in every way: “If he can do 100 push-ups, I can do 150 push-ups.” Fans of the ’80s Flash Gordon movie are hopeful that Jones will still have a role in the new movie, whether it’s only a small cameo playing an older Flash, or a bigger role, perhaps as the mentor of a younger Flash.
1. Zorro
For years now, 20th Century Fox has been toying with the idea of doing a new and very different Zorro movie. Rather than have the masked character defend the commoners against tyrannical officials in the 1800s, the new movie would see the superior sword fighter transplanted to a future with less horses and six-shooters, and more hover bikes and laser blasters. Though this idea eventually faded into the background, The Hollywood Reporter posted an article last year that would indicate the project is actually moving into development.
Producers are saying that this version of Zorro will be a grittier version of the beloved character—something along the lines of Batman in The Dark Knight. A number of other Zorro movies are also rumored to be in the works, including a bizarre crossover with Django Unchained, but the tentatively titled Zorro Reborn sounds like it’s taking the coolest approach setting Zorro in a world we’ve never seen before and giving him new challenges to face. Basically if the trailer shows him carving a “Z” into a robot using some sort of lightsaber-like weapon, you can count on us buying our tickets in advance.
