REMAKES AND SEQUELS in the pipeline
Some you'll know others you might not, one or two will have already been released
Remakes
Annie
A Prophet
The acclaimed Jacques Audiard movie A Prophet is one of the best crime sagas to hit the big screen in the past five years. If you've not seen it yet, then it's a hugely rewarding, if difficult to watch at times, piece of cinema.
Sony has now taken out an option for an English language remake, which Neal H Moritz and Toby Jaffe will be producing under the Original Film banner. They've got to get the screenplay right first, before pushing too far forward, so treat this one as in its infancy.
Batman
UPDATE: The Batman reboot is now officially tied to the Man Of Steel sequel, it's been confirmed. Due in 2015, with a new actor taking the role of Batman, it's looking like a Batman Vs Superman movie, with Zack Snyder directing, and David S Goyer penning the screenplay...
Big Man Japan
The Black Hole
Oblivion and TRON: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski continues to develop a remake of The Black Hole. Prometheus' Jon Spaihts continues to work on a screenplay for the film, and Kosinski has revealed that he sees the film more as a reboot than a remake. It's touch and go whether he makes that before TRON 3, though. Either way, it's clearly prominent on his current slate of projects.
Bloodsport
There's going to be no Jean-Claude Van Damme in the announced remake of Bloodsport that's currently in the works. Robert Mark Kamen, the co-writer of Taken 2, has been working on the script, and Phillip Noyce (Clear And Present Danger, Rabbit Proof Fence) had, at one stage, signed on to direct the movie. It's still in the works as we understand it, and the plan is, apparently, for a film that's more character driven than the original...
The Crow
At long last, it looks like the planned remake/reboot of The Crow is finally happening. The title role had been linked to Bradley Cooper and Tom Hiddleston, but in the end, it's Luke Evans who has signed up for the film. F Javier Gutierrez is directing the new film, and original Crow creator James O'Barr has now boarded the project on a consultancy basis. The Crow is now expected to shoot next year.
Daredevil
It seems like it's a question of 'when' we get a Daredevil reboot rather than 'if'. Sadly, that's a question with a very clear answer of 'not soon'. Joe Carnahan had been the latest to develop a new take on Daredevil back when 20th Century Fox had the rights. However, when Fox ran out of time, the rights went back to Marvel, and Carnahan's take on the material was dead.
Marvel doesn't have a plan, that we know of, to include a new Daredevil in its phase three of films, building up to The Avengers 3. But it does now seem a decent bet for phase four. It refused to extend the rights to Fox, and while it may just have got the character rights back because it wanted them in house, there's a decent chance that a movie may finally come out at the end of it all. 2018 would be optimistic, though.
Escape From New York
One of the best remakes of recent times was Breck Eisner's new take on The Crazies. So, even though it was hard to get enthusiastic about a remake of John Carpenter's wonderful Escape From New York, Eisner's involvement was at least some kind of olive branch.
We're unsure if he's still involved, but producer Joel Silver has confirmed this year that this remains an active project, so much so that he's toying with the idea of a trilogy of films. Tom Hardy and Jason Statham have been mentioned, but that mainly sounds like internet tittle tattle in truth. Still, expect developments...
Fantastic Four
Fox has set a March 2015 release date for its full-on reboot of the Fantastic Four series of films. Chronicle director Josh Trank has signed up to helm this one, which will take Marvel's First Family pretty much back to square one from what we can make out. Casting has yet to be announced.
Flatliners
This one's been rumoured for some time, but things took a substantive step forward earlier in the year when Niels Arden Oplev - the director of the original movie version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - was hired to helm a new take on Flatliners. Ben Ripley, who wrote Source Code, is working on the script for the film, although that's as much as we know about the project's current state right now...
Flight Of The Navigator
Godzilla
Here's a reboot that's in very good hands. Director Gareth Edwards gave the world the film Monsters, and he's a strong choice to bring Godzilla back to the big screen. Amongst the writers who have worked on this one are Frank Darabont, David S Goyer and Max Borenstein, and production is ongoing on the movie. The cast includes the likes of Bryan Cranston, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, David Strathairn and Elizabeth Olsen. And Godzilla is set for release in May 2014.
Gremlins
A Gremlins reboot remains on the agenda at Warner Bros it seems, with the studio reported at the start of the year to be negotiating with Amblin Entertainment for the rights to reboot the franchise. Amblin, as it was said back in January, was warming to the idea. It's moving slowly this one, but it does now appear to be moving...
Headhunters
Based on the book by Jo Nesbo, the 2011 Norwegian thriller Headhunters is an excellent piece of work, one that was quickly snapped up for the remake treatment. Whilst there's not been much noise about it since, we know that Sacha Gervasi (who directed Anvil) had been hired to write the script. Mark Wahlberg had expressed interest in the project too.
Heat
No, not that one. The Heat remake we're talking about here is a new take on the Burt Reynolds movie of the same name. Originally released in 1986, the new Heat is going to feature Jason Statham, who takes on the role of a recovering gambling addict who provides protection to his friends.
William Goldman wrote the novel the film is based on, and has penned the script. Heat reunites The Statham with director Simon West, who previously helmed The Expendables 2 and The Mechanic with the great man.
Highlander
Rebooting a film with a tagline 'there can be only one' positively invites the world to chortle when a fresh take on the material is announced. That's been one of the fewer problems associated with the plan to reboot Highlander, though. Ryan Reynolds had been linked with the project for some time, before walking away in June of this year. Directors such as Justin Lin and Juan Carlos Fresnadillo have also quit the project, which currently finds itself with neither a leading man or a director. That said, Summit Entertainment is still very much pressing ahead with the film, and a new director will now be able to choose their lead actor.
It
Stephen King's It was adapted technically for television, with Tim Curry putting in a memorable performance as Pennywise the Clown. In the UK, it was mashed together into one near three hour cut, and plans are now afoot for a new take on the material.
Cary Fukunaga, best known for directing Jane Eyre and Sin Nombre, has plans to write and direct a new adaptation of It, and the idea is for it to be two films. Things have been quiet on the project for the last year however, as the new It remains stuck in development for the time being.
Jacob's Ladder
One of the more bizarre choices for a remake is the planned fresh take on Adrian Lyne's 1990 psychological horror, Jacob's Ladder. Jeff Buhler (The Midnight Meat Train) is working on the latest draft of the script, and the idea is for the film to be a homage to the original, rather than a straight remake. Sounds a bit pointless either way, really.
Jack Ryan
In effect, this December's Jack Ryan will be the third time the character has been rebooted for the big screen since he first appeared in the guise of Alec Baldwin in The Hunt For Red October. There's never been a bad Jack Ryan film to date, and the new one sees Chris Pine treading where Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck have trodden before. Kenneth Branagh is directing, and the cast is rounded out with the likes of Branagh himself, Kevin Costner, Keira Knightley and David Paymer. It's due out at Christmas, and it's called, simply, Jack Ryan.
Jumanji
We've said it before and we'll say it again: Zathura is a much better film than Jumanji, based around the same central concept. Nonetheless, Columbia Pictures have hired Zach Helm to pen a new take on Jumanji for the big screen. Don't expect Robin Williams should it finally get the green light...
The Killer
The majestic John Woo movie The Killer is an action movie with genuine heart to it, alongside some spectacular set piece sequences. And there's an English language version still in the cooker. It had been announced that financing was in place, and that John H Lee was set to direct. The location of the story is set to movie to present day Los Angeles, but the guts of the narrative sound like they're in tact.
In the middle of last year, John Woo said he had "supreme confidence" in the new movie, although we've not heard much about it since then.
The Legend Of Conan
An odd one this, as it's effectively going to reboot the reboot, to get things back to how the original strand of Conan movies were. Chris Morgan has penned a script that will see Arnold Schwarzenegger pick up the role of Conan as a much older man. There's going to be no mention whatsoever of the Jason Momoa-headlined reboot that came and went a year or two back.
Schwarzenegger is likely to slot The Legend Of Conan in later this year, although he may have to juggle his schedule with his commitments to a new Terminator film to consider. Expect the movie in 2014 or 2015, though.
Leprechaun
WWE Studios has added to its production slate a remake of the film Leprechaun, which is going to see WWE star Hornswoggle (aka Dylan Postl) take on the role first realised by Warwick Davis. Zach Lipvosky is going to direct this one, having one the Steven Spielberg-backed reality TV series, On The Lot.
Logan's Run
For a while, Ryan Gosling was linked with the long-in-gestation remake of Logan's Run, which Warner Bros is trying to get going. But with Gosling and director Nicolas Winding Refn off the project, the mantle has now passed to the creator of the Bioshock videogame series. Ken Levine has been hired, very recently, to pen the latest draft of the Logan's Run screenplay, which suggests that this is a project very much still active. It just needs a star and a director to get it firmly onto the proverbial grid...
Mortal Kombat
After Mortal Kombat: Annihilation disappointed at the box office back in 1997, it looked like the big screen adventures of the ultra-violent videogame were at an end. However, there's a reboot on the way. The new Mortal Kombat film is in the hands of director Kevin Tancharoen. He directed Glee 3D, but it's more the fact that he also made the popular Internet short Mortal Kombat: Rebirth that's landed him the job. Oren Uziel was hired to write the script. Now we just wait for New Line and Warner Bros to officially fire the starting gun.
The Mummy
Off the back of remaking Total Recall, Len Wiseman is set to embark on another franchise reboot of sorts, with The Mummy. The idea this time is that the film will be set in the modern day, and the script has come from Jon Spaights (Prometheus), with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci amongst the producers. Universal will look to get this one moving sooner rather than later, we suspect.
National Lampoon's Vacation
The reboot of the Vacation movies was all set to go ahead earlier this year, with Horrible Bosses writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan M Goldstein having penned a script, and were preparing to direct too. Ed Helms remains attached to the project, which is expected to also feature Chevy Chase. But the film has apparently gone back into development, over an argument about the target rating the end cut should aim at. Expect movement on it soon though.
Point Break
Whenever we mention the proposed remake of Point Break on the site, it's fair to say that it does not seem to go down well. And yet the new version presses ahead. Ericson Core is going to direct this time. He previously helmed the Mark Wahlberg-headlined Invincible, but he's also earned his stripes for his cinematography, across features such as Daredevil and The Fast And The Furious. The plan remains to star
Poltergeist
Few people we've ever met on the planet Earth have ever expressed any kind of joy at the quite wonderfully chilling Poltergeist being remade. But there are one or two reasons for cautious optimisim here. Firstly, Sam Raimi is serving as one of the producers on the new project. Secondly though, the new Poltergeist is set to be directed by Gil Kenan. Get yourself a copy of his animated movie Monster House, and you'll see why there may yet be some promise here.
Police Academy
Progress has been slow on the almost-inevitable rebooting of the Police Academy movie franchise. Last year, it was confirmed that Scott Zabielski had been appointed to direct the new movie. However, little has been heard since (save for Jeremy Garelick being hired to do some rewrites last summer). This is a project that will happen at some point, and we'd assume that they'd want cameos from one or two of the more familiar recruits of old. It may be that New Line want to get the National Lampoon's Vacation reboot sorted first, though.
Rebecca
DreamWorks has all but greenlit a remake of the Alfred Hitchcock film Rebecca, which in turn was based on the novel by Daphne Du Maurier. Steven Knight (Hummingbird) has worked on the script for this one, and Nikolaj Arcel (A Royal Affair) has been recruited to direct.
Short Circuit
Starship Troopers
If you were one of those who didn't care at all for last year's new take on Total Recall (which, to be fair, we thought had its moments), then you might want to take solace in the fact that it may have had an unexpected side effect. Because up until that point, plans were afoot for a new take on Starship Troopers, with less violence to it. At the end of last year, original director Paul Verhoeven told The Playlist that he didn't know if "they're going to do Starship Troopers after the failure of Total Recall". It remains somewhere in development, but things have certainly gone quiet...
Suspiria
David Gordon Green, off the back of films such as The Sitter, Your Highness and George Washington, had planned to be moving ahead with a remake of Dario Argento's Suspiria by now. However, the project has hit a problem, which continues to hold it up. In the words of the writer/director to Indiewire, it's "caught up in legal crap, so who knows what will ever happen to that". As far as we know, the project isn't technically dead, but it certainly sounds as though it's on life support.
Sympathy For Mr Vengeance
It may be that all concerned wait to see just how well the remake of Park Chan-wook's Oldboy goes down before formally pressing ahead with this one, but Brian Tucker (Broken City) has been hired to pen a script for an English language take on Sympathy For Mr Vengeance. He's got, might we suggest, quite a job on his hands.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Under the stewardship of Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes banner, director Jonathan Liebseman is currently shooting Paramount's big screen reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The film is locked in for a summer 2014 release, and the cast includes the likes of William Fichtner and Megan Fox. If it works, expect sequels...
Terminator
a brand new trilogy of Terminator films heads to the big screen starting in June 2015. Paramount Pictures has come in to distribute the fifth Terminator movie, which is set to bring Arnold Schwarzenegger back to the franchise. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has also been linked with the film. This will be the first, if all goes to plan, of a new trilogy of films. Currently working on the script for the first of them are Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier.
Timecop
Based on the original tale from Dark Horse Comics, Timecop gave Jean-Claude Van Damme one of his biggest ever box office hits. Earlier this year, it was revealed that a new version of Timecop was in development though, and this will go back to the source material. As such, no Van Damme. It's being produced by Marc Shmuger and Tom McNulty, and remains in its early stages.
Tomb Raider
GK Films now has the rights for the big screen adventures of Lara Croft, and thus a reboot of the Tomb Raider film series is coming. It arrives off the back of a very, very successful videogame reboot, and the last we heard on the new Tomb Raider was that Buffy The Vampire Slayer alumnus Marti Noxon had been brought on board to help put together a final screenplay.
Toxic Avenger
For some time, there's been talk of a remake of Troma's The Toxic Avenger. And in the past few months, things look like they've fallen into place. In fact, Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to take on a small role in the movie, as The Exterminator. Steve Pink remains attached to direct this one, with production due to start before the year is out. That makes a 2014 release really rather possible.
Van Helsing
It's probably best to concede from the off that the 2004 movie of Van Helsing, from The Mummy director Stephen Sommers, was not a great film. It had Hugh Jackman in it, which was useful, but the end movie felt like a videogame you weren't invited to play.
Star Trek and Fringe scribes Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are thus going back to the characters of Bram Stoker for a new big screen stab at the film, which has thus far got Tom Cruise circling the project, potentially to star. It's still a project bubbling along, rather than one close to getting made, yet it remains active.
Videodrome
Waterworld
At the end of 2012, it was revealed that Syfy was toying with the idea of a remake of sorts of Waterworld. It was undecided whether to make it into a television series or a standalone movie,
Weird Science
The Wild Bunch
A contemporary remake of The Wild Bunch is one of the projects that Will Smith is contemplating. This time around, the focus would be on a bunch of DEA agents hunting down a Mexican drug cartel.
xXx
It's hard to tell at the moment whether the planned xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage will be a reboot or sequel. Given the performance its predecessor however, we suspect a reboot of sorts is likely to be in order. The film seems a little in limbo at the moment, unsurprising given Diesel's commitments to the Fast & Furious films, and also to rebooting Riddick (due in cinemas shortly). With xXx, the last we heard was that director Rob Cohen was likely to return alongside Diesel, but it's a project that's been quiet for a couple of years now. When Diesel's schedule frees up, it may just finally press ahead.
Young Sherlock Holmes
Another 80s favourite, the plan to reboot Young Sherlock Holmes is a by-product, presumably, of the success of TV shows Sherlock and Elementary (as well as the Robert Downey Jr-headlined Sherlock Holmes movies). The last we heard of this one, Evan Spiliotopoulos has been hired to write the new screenplay (he previously worked on The Lion King 1 1/2). Original writer Chris Columbus is set to serve as a producer.
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