When one talks about movie reboots it is often met with two opposing fronts of fans and viewers. One group shouting with fist in the air that Hollywood should stop rebooting our favourite movies, and let them remain as masterpieces, and the other group that looks forward to a modern take, a fresh look at our beloved classic movies. There’s definitely no shortage of movie reboots constantly hitting our big screens.

We agree that the magnitude of reboots coming our way is nothing more than hollywood being dull and lacking creativity, and of course production houses trying to ride the money wave of a previous successful movie by rebooting it. But, there are some movies that really can do with a reboot. The latest technology and CGI special effects can now create a more vivid and accurate script to screen adaptation. And why not give a younger generation the opportunity to experience afresh some of our favourite classic movies.

Here’s our original list of 10 Movie Reboots to Look forward to, which contains our personal favourite movies that are in the process of being remade.

Also See:

 

Let’s take a look at 10 More Movie Reboots To Look Forward To!

 

1. Ben Hur

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Seeing as hollywood is on a bible-movie mission (Noah, Exodus: Gods and Kings), rebooting the classic and epic tale of Ben Hur is a good idea. If you’ve seen this movie then you would know that this movie had the record for winning the most Oscars (11) prior to the Titanic movie (1997).

Who better to helm this project than  Mark Burnett and Roma Downey. Both of them are quite familiar with the genre, churning out the popular miniseries The Bible for the History Channel in 2013. It did exactly what the title suggests, telling in glorious live action the stories of the Old and New Testament — all the way up to the events leading to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

The couple also released Son of God this February, a movie that chronicled the life and times and teachings of Jesus, from his immaculate conception to his resurrection from the dead, as another entry in their religious resume.

The film is not a remake of the beloved 1959 film that starred Charlton Heston. It will be more closely based on the original source material, Lew Wallace’s 1880 book “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ,” with particular focus on the parts taking place prior to the events adapted for the much-abridged 1959 version.

Downey and Burnett do have a lot to live up to. That classic adaptation of Ben-Hur won 11 Oscars in it’s heyday. But with a script from Keith Clarke and 12 Years a Slave‘s Tom Ridley, and direction from Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), they might have a bit of a shot.

Why it will work: It’s bible-movie time for Hollywood. Couple this with the right directors and writers currently on-board this can be a great reboot.

 

2. Gremlins

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Gizmo and his evil step brothers, the Gremlins, could be returning to theaters. With the latest CGI this can really be a great remake of the beloved Gremlins.  Imagine how cute Gizmo could be with the right CGI, or a motion-capture performance?

Old but the latest news is that Warner Bros. is negotiating with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment in order to get the ball rolling on Gremlins 2.0 (again). However, insiders are claiming that this particular round of discussions may, indeed, end with the project moving into pre-production.

The original film (1987) is about a father who gives his son a mystical creature as a Christmas gift, only to have things go terribly wrong. The film was entertainingly creepy, with plenty of black humor laced throughout. Do you still remember the rules for owning a Gremlin?

Screenwriter Chris Columbus has spoken about returning to the Gremlins-verse:

“It would be fun to go back and revisit. Something like Gremlins, which is a movie I really like, I think it’s impossible to recreate in a CGI environment. I think it will inevitably lose some of its charm. Those are edgy Muppets in a sense and you don’t want to lose that sense of anarchy that those gremlins had, because behind the scenes are 25 puppeteers making them to come to life.”

It’s possible that Spielberg (who executive produced Gremlins) has similar feelings as Columbus; though, Vulture reports the task of getting him onboard for a reboot has “always proved too daunting a financial prospect,” so the problem might just be cost, rather than creative concerns.

The decision needs to be made whether the reboot is only a kids movie, or a kids and adult movie. This will determine the direction in CGI amount, story and humour.

Why this will work: You have one of the cutest creatures in hollywood history. Coupled with great CGI how can this not work?

 

3. Bloodsport

First reported back in 2013 we hope that this reboot is still in the works. The new Bloodsport – originally about an army officer who goes AWOL to compete in an illegal underground fight tournament – will now be about “the morally-conflicted life of 21st century mercenaries who clash with the underground world of Brazilian Vale Tudo, the martial arts style used by Donald Gibb’s character in the original film”.

Although that description makes it sound more like a documentary than a film, we can only hope that this reboot contains similar fights and training moments as the original did.

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The script has an impending re-write by Craig Rosenberg (The Uninvited), who is re-working the vision of Robert Kamen (Taken Trilogy) and Phillip Noyce (Salt), the creative team originally attached to the reboot.  Regarding the director, last news was that Ed Pressman (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps) was shopping around for a batch of new projects – which include the Bloodsport remake (in addition to the Crow remake).

Why it will work: We were divided between whether or not this reboot will work, or not. The story of an outsider competing in an underground or illegal fighting arena has definitely been done by Hollywood, and done successfully. The ingredients are all there to remake this classic and have a younger generation of moviegoers enjoy this movie. Yet, we fear this may fall into the abysmal pool of ridiculous over the top fighting movies where the story is all but a side-line.

 

4. Flatliners

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“Dead Man Down” and the original Swedish “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” director Niels Arden Oplev is attached to helm the contemporary reboot of Joel Schumacher’s 1990 afterlife drama “Flatliners” at Sony Pictures. We absolutely loved the original Flatliners, containing some of the todays greatest actors. Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts and Kevin Bacon.

The original centered on a group of medical students who subject themselves to near-death experiences in order to see if anything lies beyond. Soon after, the members of the group are revisited by physical manifestations of childhood sins are not sure if what they are facing is real or hallucination.

Ben Ripley is penning the remake. Oplev recently wrapped work directing the pilot for CBS’ adaptation of Stephen King’s “Under the Dome”.

If Niels Arden Oplev can bring the same “feel” to this reboot than what we saw in the original ‘Girl with the dragon Tattoo’ then this will have the dark, cold, somber feel to it that it deserves.

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Why it will work: The director has it in him to give this classic life-after/during-death movie a fresh make-over. Given the right cast, this can be awesome.

 

5. Timecop

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All time travel movies are great right? This seems to be the logic applied by production houses that own the rights to these type of movies. Next up on the reboot mill is Timecop, a story in the anthology Dark Horse Comics. The original 1994 film starred Jean-Claude Van Damme as a police officer in the future of 2004, fighting time travel crime and, as a result, discovering an interconnected web of political corruption. Timecop opened #1 at the box office.

Universal brought the title back into awareness about a year ago when they tried to get the ball rolling on a reboot following the success of the film Looper. Now they’re at it again by finally hiring two writers.

THR reports Mark and Brian Gunn (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) will pen the script for Timecop, with Marc Shmuger and Mike Richardson of Dark Horse Comics – who also wrote the original film – onboard to produce.

Why it will work: The original writers are onboard again. Given that Looper had pretty much the same premise, hence we are very cautious about this reboot. Granted this wasn’t  one of the best films ever, but in an era where time travel movies where fresh and new Timecop was a hit. We see no reason why the reboot can do the same. They have the original writers to do it. We just have to see what Mark and Brian Gunn can do with the script. We’re holding thumbs!

 

6. 20 000 leagues under the sea

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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a story about man versus nature, revenge, and freedom. Set in 1866, the submarine Nautilus is helmed by Captain Nemo who begins attacking American and European ships. Because the Nautilus is the first of its kind, people mistake it for a monster.

In 2009, McG was attached to a remake envisioned as a Captain Nemo origin story with Will Smith as Nemo. In 2010 David Fincher picked up the project only to drop it in 2013 after unsuccessfully wooing Brad Pitt as Ned Land to the project. 20,000 Leagues was also made into a 1997 TV movie and a couple of un-noteworthy animated films (2000 and 2003).

Latest news surrounding tos reboot is that this project is being produced by Palek Patel and Joe Roth, who’ve also been responsible for a number of the recent cinematic fairy tale re-tellings, including Snow White and the HuntsmanOz the Great and Powerful, and this year’s MaleficentTHR reporting earlier this month that Sony bought the script for Captain Nemo, with Patel and Roth producing the screenplay written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar – best known for having created the CW’s young Superman TV series Smallville.

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Why it will work: The video game Bioshock showed what’s possible with a steampunk/hydropunk aesthetic. Modern visual effects can finally realize the book’s grand scope of adventures aboard the Nautilus. This is a classic tale written by one of the best science fiction writers ever, Jules Verne. This story needs to be retold over and over again.

 

7. Hellraiser

We reported on the reboot of the classic horror Hellraiser in October last year. The best news about this reboot is that Clive Barker himself, who gave us the original 1987 Hellraiser is involved and has already confirmed that pinhead, Bob Weinstein is already confirmed. Barker took to Facebook to reveal the development plan on the upcoming remake of the horror film he wrote and directed. He wrote:

“A few weeks ago I had a very productive meeting with Bob Weinstein of Dimension Pictures, in the course of which I pitched a remake of the first hellraiser film. The idea of my coming back to the original film and telling the story with a fresh intensity-honoring the structure and the designs from the first incarnation but hopefully creating an even darker and richer film-was attractive to Dimension.”

He went on, adding that he has “officially been invited to write the script based upon that pitch.”

Why it will work: Clive Barker that’s why.

 Also See: 

 

8. Short Circuit

There’s been plenty movies with a loveable robot that border’s the line between being a robot and being human. The first of its kind was Short Circuit. With Neil Blomkamp’s Chappie heading our way, we’re not sure if a Short Circuit reboot is a good idea. Then again it may be a great idea seeing as films such as Wall-E was a huge success.

People have a certain affinity towards robots, take the Mars Rover as an example. People just love reading about the latest adventures of NASA’s little mars rover.

There’s been no fresh news on this reboot for almost 2 years now, which doesn’t help. Last news we heard of was that Director Tim Hill was attached to the reboot, hoping to make the film slightly darker and edgier while maintaining its family-friendly context. Hill believes that a new Short Circuit is just the thing that movie audiences will love. In an interview with 24 Frames, Hill shed some light about the new Short Circuit:

“The thing that makes it so relevant is that we live in this age of robots, particularly when it comes to war. We have drones that do our fighting for us, do all these jobs men and women don’t want to do. And that’s what makes this so interesting — things like this moment in the story when Johnny realizes he’s going to be disassembled and contemplates death, and whether it’s right to terminate someone else.”

The film’s human protagonist will be a teenager this time around as opposed to the early twenty-year-old seen in the original. This will allow younger audiences to relate to the character and maintain its family friendly feel .

It should be interesting to see just how Hill is able to balance the issues of war and still make it family-friendly for modern audiences.

Why it will work: It’s a loveable robot with a heart of gold. In today’s era of technology, robots and artificial intelligence, this reboot can earn some serious box office dollars if done right.

Also See: 10 most popular movie robots

 

9. Ghostbusters

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Few reboots have garnered as much attention as the Ghostbusters reboot. While it is still not clear whether this will be a reboot or a third installment, there’s been plenty of publicity both positive and negative for this movie. From the word go the reboot got off to a bad start.  Bill Murray has never been shy about his thoughts on the Ghostbusters 3 script. Originally he wanted no part of it and then famously joked that he’d only do it if Venkman were a ghost. Murray wasn’t being serious, but the writers unfortunately went ahead and implemented that idea into their script anyway.

Murray has famously been something of an albatross for this project – he didn’t answer phone calls when they needed his approval on the script and told David Letterman that all of the  speculation surrounding the film was “just crazy talk.” Yet, this past April Murray indicated that he may have had a change of heart and said that Ghostbuster 3 might be fun to do.

The question we’re asking is can this go ahead without Murray? Can you picture a Ghost Busters movie without Bill Murray? To make matters even worse, Ivan Reitman – the man who directed both the original 1984 film and 1989’s Ghostbusters II – is no longer calling the shots for the new movie. Sony, however, appears to be pushing on with the idea, unwilling to let a potential new franchise wither. Reitman is staying aboard as a producer though.

Why it will work: If Murray can get onboard, and the director chosen knows what he’s doing, then this will be a great homage to the original Ghostbusters. If they decide to keep it light-hearted and fun, then this will be a great reboot.

Also See:

 

10. Flash Gordon

Several attempts to reboot the iconic sci-fi pic Flash Gordon have failed in the past, but this time round it seems we might be in for a proper remake according to rumors making the rounds on the internet. The guys over at Film Divider has reason to believe that the star football player turned-space hero will be returning to the big screen. The report claims that “Star Trek 3″ writers, John D. Payne and Patrick McKay, are tapped to write the script for the remake. The creative duo will reportedly team up with producer Jon Davis and are in the process of sealing the deal.

We reported earlier that according to Film Divider, the new version will go “right back to the original Raymond comic strips and sidesteps any association with the movie, and even the serials.” It will allegedly“ reclaim Flash Gordon from his current reputation in the way that Tim Burton redirected the public conception of Batman.”

Why it will work: Few people even remember or know the story of Flash Gordon, hence it is a prime candidate for a reboot.

 

11. Escape from New York

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We are huge fans of the 1981 classics Escape from New York and Escape from L.A.  The story follows Snake Plissken, played by Kurt Russel as a tough convict who is dropped into a futuristic New York that has been turned into a crazy violent maximum security prison. Snake is offered a pardon, if he successfully rescues the president, who is being held hostage by the prison kingpin after his plane crashes within the city walls.

Sounds like Joel Silver will be picking up the reigns as Director in getting the reboot going. Also, this is going to be a Trilogy!

“Silver is planning an entirely new take on the material. The goal is to turn it into a trilogy, starting with an origin story in a fashion similar to the way Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes restarted that franchise.”   The question is… who will they cast as Snake Plissken?

Over at Collider, Silver has revealed in this cryptic and confusing statement what we can expect from the trilogy:

“There was a videogame that came out a few years ago called ‘Arkham City,’ which shows how Gotham became this kind of walled prison and how it became a walled prison. And they never deal with that in the story of ‘Escape from New York,’ so part of our idea was to kind of see how the city became this walled prison and how the Snake Plissken character was a hero and how he became not looked at as a hero. And then, in the middle of the story, would be the movie that we, you know, previously saw about the President’s daughter goes down, he has to go in and get her. And then, you know, they did a sequel, ‘Escape from L.A.,’ but I would like to then kind of find a way to have New York go back to a place that we’d like to see what it is today.”

So far the likes of Gerard Butler, Jeremy Renner, Timothy Olyphant and even Tom Hardy were all in contention for the role of Plissken

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Why it will work: A tough guy anti-hero in a broken-down society fighting for good. This story is too good to not reboot. With Joel Silver onboard, and it being a trilogy. This will be awesome.

 

We listed 11 movies, just incase the Ghostbusters reboot turns out to be a third movie. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.