As we all know, Hollywood is the epicenter of not only fads, but also ripping off copying what works from other studios. We’ve all seen this before many times. One studio puts out a successful movie in some genre and within 6-9 months we see a bunch of movies coming out trying to capitalize on the popularity of the first one.
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This phenomenon really took off in the early 1980s, with movies like Star Wars launching a new era in Sci-Fi films (yes, I know Star Wars was released prior to 1980), Superman starting the superhero movie trend, Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street giving us the wonderful teen horror genre (at least they were rated R back then). Rambo started the lone hero with enemies that were lousy shots and couldn’t kill him even with machine guns and Porky’s gave us the start of the raunchy high school comedy.
So I suppose it was only appropriate, and a matter of time before Hollywood, bereft of new ideas, decided to re-visit those old gold mines to search for a fresh vein to tap. But now we’re not doing remakes any more… oh no - now the big buzzword is: Reboot.
The first recent film to tackle this concept (and succeed) was Batman Begins in 2005. Warner Bros. took a once successful franchise that had been ruined utterly and completely by descending into tongue in cheek, replete with nipples on the Bat-Suit. As we all know, director Chris Nolan exceeded everyone’s expectations and cleansed our palates of the abomination that was foisted upon us by Joel Schumacher.
Warner Bros. followed this success with Superman Returns, which while it was profitable, was a disappointment to many, and didn’t really “reboot” the franchise. It seems like the next Superman film may actually try to do that (again). We also had the rejuvenation of the James Bond franchise with Casino Royale, which gave us Daniel Craig as the closest thing to the early days of the series and Sean Connery.
The Incredible Hulk reboot didn’t go as well as planned for a variety of reasons including poor marketing and internal conflicts.
So now that the studios have seen that it’s possible to do a reboot well (as opposed to recent failures like Planet of the Apes and The Pink Panther), the reboot trend is moving full steam ahead. Interestingly, the main target for source material seems to the very same era I mentioned above: the 1980s (give or take a couple of years).
Now technically some of the projects haven’t been reboots - a similar trend that’s emerging is to create an additional sequel to a movie franchise that ended 20 years ago. An example of this was Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - which while successful, was not as huge a hit as Paramount had been hoping for. The fact that the term “Nuke the fridge” has entered the vernacular has more than a little to do with it, I’m quite sure. 
On the “delayed” sequel front we also had Bruce Willis returning as John McClane in Live Free or Die Hard (aka Die Hard 4). While that was controversial due to dropping the rating from the usual R to a PG-13, it did well at the box office and was fairly well-received. We also had not one but two Sylvester Stallone sequels: Rambo and Rocky Balboa, both of which kicked butt IMHO.
Projects ready to hit the screen next year include J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek and McG’s Terminator 4. Other “dust off the concept” movies that are in the works include Child’s Play, Hellraiser, Ghostbusters and Beverly Hills Cop 4.
So this got me thinking… what movie reboots/delayed sequel possibilities are out there that haven’t been tapped yet? Now I’m not saying this is a good idea - I’m just saying that I’m betting there are “scriptments” floating around Hollywood for these well-known franchises.
Whether they get made before this trend runs out, I don’t know - but if they DO, you heard it here first. 
Here’s the list, in no particular order:
1. Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
Here’s the movie that made both Burt Reynolds and Sally Field stars and beloved by the public. Just a fun, against the establishment, redneck fun movie.
Logic: Are you kidding me? With Sarah Palin as the Republican Vice-Presidential pick and the whole Liberal vs Conservative angst, the timing for a new version of this couldn’t be better!
2. Crocodile Dundee (1986)
This is the movie that made Aussie Paul Hogan a star. With his low key charm and self-confidence, he became and instant audience favorite. It spawned a sequel which wasn’t bad, but in 2001 they did a third movie which was a stinker.
Logic: Someone needs to make a casting trip to Australia to find a new Dundee - shouldn’t be too difficult… Australia seems to have a good supply of “manly men.”
3. Home Alone (1990)
The original starring Macaulay Culkin and directed by Chris Columbus is a classic. There was one sequel and a failed attempt at a reboot back in 1997.
Logic: It’s been 11 years since the last one, so you know that someone out there thinks “if we could only find the right child actor” they could make a go of this one again.
4. Back to the Future (1985)
Another beloved series, which starred Michael J. Fox and was directed by Robert Zemeckis. While the first two were great, the third left a bit to be desired.
Logic: Yes, this one should remain untouched, but it’s got a brand name, was a big hit for its time and I can just see some new spin on this (no doubt with characters that are annoying instead of endearing).
5. Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
Having been pretty nerdy myself at the time this originally came out, I thought it was hysterical. As usual, the sequels got progressively weaker.
Logic: You could almost argue that with the unending string of teen comedies, this is unnecessary. Well, yeah, it IS unnecessary - but remember we have a known title plus lazy screenwriters (no, not ALL of them, but we know they’re out there).
6. Rambo (1982)
Logic: Considering the fact that we just had a sequel, maybe some bright-eyed exec will think it’s time to re-cast this with a younger actor. Instead of a Vietnam vet I’m sure they’d be happy to use a black-ops Iraq war veteran as the hero.
7. Porky’s (1982)
If memory serves, this was the first really raunchy high school comedy (yeah, we had Animal House but that was college, big difference, right? RIGHT?).
Logic: See #5.
8. Mad Max (1980)
Mad Max was a little film that gave us the first big screen appearance of Mel Gibson (dubbed horribly with an American voice). Immediate cult classic -spawned two sequels, one good, one not so much.
Logic: You could almost argue that a reboot has been attempted already with this year’s clunker Doomsday. But it’s not really a reboot unless they use the original title.
9. Rocky (1976)
Logic: Similar to #6, Rambo and the same logic applies.
10. Lethal Weapon (1987)
The original team-up of Mel Gibson as the manic cop and Danny Glover was awesome. Again, each subsequent film was not as good as the one before.
Logic: While there have been many “buddy cop” movies since this one, again we have the “Lethal Weapon” brand name. Definitely reboot material - PLEASE do not bring Glover and Gibson back for this.
Well there you have it: The top 10 candidates for the movie reboot treatment.
So what do you think - do you have any that should be added to the list, or ideas for how any of these should play out?
Thanks to DenOfGeek for sparking some ideas.
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49 Comments
“…with this year’s
clunkerfantastic Doomsday.” (Fixed)Also, a Revenge of the Nerds remake was planned, but was ultimately canned.
I think only bad movies with potential should be rebooted, but that’s just my opinion.
Doomsday looked like yet another gimmick fest, I skipped that one.
Police Academy is inevidididable’ I’d say.
Is it too soon for a Matrix reboot? It will happen, maybe wait a decade ..
Sorry, bro - I meant “clunker” as in “box office.”
Vic
Is it too early to call for a G.I. Joe reboot?
I hope there will NEVER be a “Star Wars” reboot in a sense of redoing Eps 4-6. But it might eventually happen…
Well, “Alien” could be upon us, too. After the lackluster Resurrection and those mediocre AvP outings it might be the only way to bring back that franchise.
Well, and if “Star Trek” is a success next year we most certainly will see big-screen outings of other former TV space operas like “Babylon 5″ or even “Farscape”…
Not sure what to make of it. It worked for the Batman and 007 but can this be repeated again and again? Will the world finally get tired of reboots and beg for new straight-forward sequels?
Would love to see an epic B5 movie … but not a remake.
@ Benny
There is already a GI Joe movie in the making, but if you mean to reboot the movie that has yet to come out, I might agree with you from the few concept art things I’ve seen from it…
Apparently, you haven’t heard…Michael J. Fox is attempting to reboot BTTF, but get this: He wants to play the role of Doc Brown!!!
Rebooting Smokey and the Bandit?
If Knoxville and Scott sign on, I’m renting Bambi!
Oh hey! HERE’s a great Idea…sure to play up to Stallone’s ego:
“Rambo vs. Rocky Balboa”, a film directed by Sylvester Stallone…produced by Sylvester Stallone…written by Sylvester Stallone…starring Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa…also starring Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo.
Co-starring Sylvester Stallone as Paulie, also starring Sylvester Stallone as Col. Trautman…with a special cameo by Sylvester Stallone as both Mickey and Apollo Creed.
When I first started reading this (and thanks, Vic), I immediately thought “Police Academy”; you could even have some of the regular cast members return as instructors or captains. I also thought of “Forbidden Planet”, although I don’t know how they could make it any better. What about a “Lost in Space” reboot? I liked the movie but I keep reading where people thought it was garbage.
Also, Vic, I thought the first and last “Back to the Future” were the good ones and the 2nd was the not so good one?
Howard Stern owns the rights to the Porky’s remake and has said numerous times that he will, in fact, find a way to re-make the movie.
i’d like to see another Buckaroo Banzai.
(and speaking of Revenge of the Nerds, I know there is a reboot in the works. A friend Reece Thompson (rocket science, assassination of a high school president) recently auditioned for a part in it and from what I heard, it sounds like a complete butcher job.
Yeah out of the depths of hell came the reboot.
(Welcome to the party pal)
Doomsday was a fun rental or cheap dvd to buy.
It was a COMPLETE ripoff of Escape from NY,,,
The best thing about reboots is you don’t have to watch them.
I have no interest in any of those 10 films.
And I liked Speed Racer,,, go figure.
Flash Gordon (already rumored)
Serenity / Firefly (wait a few years)
Interview with the Vampire (ignore that Queen of the Damned was ever made)
There might be a sequel to Serenity, but it won’t be the same without the characters that died, especially Wash…
hmm…I think I’ll watch Doomsday tonight…after I watch the Fringe premiere
For reboots, I heard about a Mad Max reboot last year that’s not starring Mel Gibson, as well as a lethal Weapon 5.
In a few decades, Star Wars will definatley be re-made, to hit the kids two generations from now. Before that, I’m sure other Star Wars film projects will be made - whether it’ll be Episodes 7-9 or a film about the Knights of the Old Republic universe (which they are making an MMO out of and rumoured a possible script being made)
For reboots that will be made for sure, Back to the Future absolutely will be remade.
I would totally be behind a reboot of Buck Rogers if it lost the campiness of the first one. Also, I would not be surprised to see such 80’s films as Gremlins and Poltergeist to be remade. In addition, it wouldn’t be below Hollywood to reboot the Dirty Harry franchise, but I can’t think of a single actor who has the screen presence of Clint Eastwood who can pull it off.
Robocop. Seems there was talk/hope of a reboot awhile back. Ditto for Highlander.
Please, God, not Highlander.
I don’t think it’s too early for a Matrix reboot. Hollywood is reboot happy. Someone needs to reboot them up their arse, if you ask me.
I think someone will reboot MST3K. That someone would be wrong, very wrong.
What I meant was I have no interest in seeing those films rebooted.
Rob, want your opinions on both those shows !!!
Matrix rebooted, get out !!!!!
Matrix trilogy kicked aas. The ending was altered by WB so don’t blame it all on the Watchoskies.
Star Wars reboot,,, I doubt you will ever see that.
Lucas has total control and he’s said that there will be no reboots or remakes !!!!
Even if he dies his daughter will uphold his wishes.
(The force is strong with this one)
I could totally see a remake of Mad Max. One with more action and hardcore stunts like the car stunts from the Borne movies. An unknown actor would work for the role of Max but I was thinking that an actor like Christian Bale could really play the part and kick butt doing it.
I also think it is time to do a remake of Bullet with Daniel Craig in the lead. He is the spitting image of Steve McQueen. A movie that no one has mentioned but I think could become a big production is the Shadow. Bare with me, the Alec Baldwin attempt was too clean cut and flat. The Shadow is a man who was once a villain and uses is evil abilities for good. This has a Christopher Nolan batman vibe written all over it. Put more action in it and cast a guy who can be a very nice play boy and then act as a sinister dark hero who uses guns and martial arts (the character spends an extended amount of time in Tibet). You could have a franchise with action figures written all over it.
I Relly hope they leave Back to the Future alone .
Yeah I agree Gary,,,
The Back to the Future trilogy is perfect !!!!!!!!!
I agree that only bad movies with potential should be rebooted- or when the original acotrs are dead, if not, they should return to play cameoes in a sequel to the original series…
Babylon 5 movie- Yes, with same actors and Movie budget.
Spiderman- Yes- because there is no recovery from siderman 3, it was the Batman og robin of Spiderman movies - reboot wit ultimate spiderman, new actors and blend in with the other new Marvel movies(I know - marvel don’t have the film rights and so on)
Sequel vs reboot.
Batman- had to happen.
Superman- Why? Superman reurns was good, and a just a taste of how good a action packed superman movie with a real supervillan vould be- GIVE us Brandon, and not the Mummy one!
Hulk- Dont you even dare no nothing else than a sequel with Eddy boy.
Daredevil- as ben wont do more, make ultimate daredevil. new actors onther ultimate cameos
-Sequels to come…
Starship troopers, hell yea- bring back the soap stars! And the titties…
Sequals that should be made.
Riddick- Only thing Vin does right, make him do more(but maybe babylon a.d is good to?)…
Van Helsing- was set up to be a franchise, why not make one more- but who does he go after now? Maybe we get to know more of how he was the arch angel gabriel once?
X-men - the new generation, the old ones does cameos, focus on kitty, Collossus and some new ones.
Also can someone contract me to direct the new The Phantom movie? - Im doing film&tv at University now, come on - give me 130 mill… Ill make it 2500 times better than the one with billy zane. I am thinking maybe - daniel day lewis as 20th phantom and with Zachary Quinto as the 21th Phantom, Mila Cunis as Diana and Danny devito as Guran- what? robert downey did it well as black- devito would be perfect for comic relief, the film would be R , Rex would be played by Some young hot bond actor, and he would get hooked on drugs in america going to college- The Phantom must save him from Mafia..
Come on, let me make it, plz
I vote for Godzilla!
@Rob Here’s my Criswell prediction… a remake of Back To The Future will come out in 2015, and the “Marty” character will be rocketed back to that weird and prehistoric time era 1985!
Robocop! Forgot about that one - it is indeed in the works.
@790
The movies you say you think are awesome continues to amaze me (Matrix 2&3).
Vic
I think rebooting Elektra wouldnt be a bad idea.
I thought the story of The Matrix was told very well in that first film .
And aside from the obvious monetary reasons,
I saw no reason to make the other two.
Matrix 2&3 don’t exist. [Waves hand] “These aren’t the movies you’re looking for.”
Vic
LMAO Vic, well put…
“These aren’t the movies we are looking for, move along.”
I agree, 1 was GREAT and was very unique, but 2 and 3 were just for the money and it was obvious.
I could say the same thing Vic, I’ve read thru your ratings and quite a few of the 5 Star films are (IMO), super craptastic,,,
Guess will have to agree that movies&tv shows are subjective?, like I’ve heard you defend more than once on SR, Vic…
Sorry gang if you don’t like Speed Racer or Matrix 2/3, however I’m not going to say they sucked because Vic, or Ken J, both agree…
Im getting a little tired of the bashing I’m taking on MY opinions…
Its not like I’m defending AvP/r or Swing Vote,,,
Should we all start to make comments on how I think your opinions are suspect because you like this or I like that?
Group hug….
Vic
Someone said they were going to watch DOOMSDAY? Uh, I just finished it, it sucks.
Back to the Future is perfect. Please don’t ruin it. The third one is good too, a rare example of when the third installment of a trilogy is great.
A lot of movies listed here ‘to be rebooted’ are already being rebooted… or sequaled… like… Rambo, Rocky and Lethal Weapon
Robocop — reboot long awaited and justified.
A Revenge of the Nerds remake was in production 2 years ago but the studio shut it down after looking at 2 weeks of dailes! It hated them. Howard Stern’s production company has a Porky’s remake in the works. I agree that the first Home Alone is a classic and the sequel is pretty good also. Its also amazing that Univesal has never revamped its Back to the Future franchise as it has so much potential!
A lot of people disagree with me,
But I always thought the original back to the Future was actually open ended .
If it was succesful, we continue the story
where we left off and if not we know Marty is still having adventures out there .
Thoughts?
Its really too bad ppl are actually accepting this reboot-craze.
The way things are going (in the near future) all films will be reboots…in 3D,,,,,,,
I can see future generations scoffing at new material,,,
(That’s not a 3D/reboot, get out)
This is a very sad trend.
“No offense” but when I hear ppl saying, “its time for a Back to the Future reboot”, I have to ask, “why?”
The original wasn’t good enough ???
You would rather see a re-run ????
That’s all these films are.
The lack of creativitiy in Hollywood, and ever incresing hunger for this crap is pathetic…
(IMO) the only way to slow this trend is to NOT pay money to see these (reboots).
Give them the Boot !
If ppl continue to support these re-runs consider what message your sending to the studios.
It would also be disconcerting to see an actor that always looked eternally young on screen now that he’s much older, IMHO.
Vic
I think there was an animated Back to the Future cartoon.
It featured the adventures of Doc Brown, and took place on the Time-traveling train.
I could be wrong.
Micheal J Fox, is a really great guy. I was lucky enough to meet him. Hope they find a cure !!!
hey 790,
which 2 shows do you want my opinion on? Fringe and…
Rob,,aah that would be, “Escape from Glasgow” ,,,urh I mean , “Doomsday”.
Man I’ve totally allowed this one to bake.
INK I’ll be sittin right next to ya to watch that B5 movie.
How about one that resolves the Drak (sp) plague?
John “Kahless” Taylor; “Lost In Space” just needs a sequel.
I vote for the title, “Lost In Space Where Are They Now?”.
“Forbidden Planet see 1960’s “Star Trek” pilot..
ZAH; “Porky’s” , Dreck.. Jesus said, “you can’t make a silk purse out of a sows ear!”
blipvert; “Buckaroo Banzai” now your talking, Earl Mac Rauch
with David Lynch should co-write and direct.
Panda; “Flash Gordon” only if they make a satire.
Zipper Stevens; um, you need to get out on the web more man..;)
thisgirltv; “Highlander” the movies = under baked baked alaska.
Scrap and start from scratch. “MST3K” Cloned, by the parents of
the original. thisgirltv Welcome, don’t be a stranger.
790; “Star Wars” reboot “Even if he dies his daughter
will uphold his wishes.” Maybe.. The next generation or
the next, have a way of surprising their relatives. Don’t
discount needs vs desires on this either. A Lucas in the poor
house?? Hey, it could happen, look at the DeLaurentis family.
saxophone7770; no offense but “Mad Max” + “Borne” movies +
Bale = channeled wet dream. whose’? Surely not George Miller.
“Bullet” remake with Daniel Craig. yeah I’d buy that..
Gary; “I Relly hope they leave Back to the Future alone .”
790; “Yeah I agree Gary”
the old man; Trifecta
Johnny-K of Norway; “The Phantom movie ” Yeah, behind you 100% minus the 130 mill of course.
eli; “I vote for Godzilla!” WoW, its the “Robot Chicken” sketch all over again..
Gary; “I think rebooting Elektra wouldn’t be a bad idea.” but what about “EleKtra and Wolverine” huh??
Ken J; about “Matrix”- “1 was GREAT and was very unique” Only if you’ve never heard “the one” about how all of reality is just God dreaming and what would happen if God woke up!
790; “Sorry gang if you don’t like Speed Racer or Matrix 2/3″
Don’t let em bait ya man. In 40 years they’ll be saying, those movies were great or we’ll all be dead and it won’t matter anyway.
“Its really too bad ppl are actually accepting this reboot-craze.”
Baby boom nostalgia, once it dries up you might not even see a SciFi film for a decade.
I would like to see a fresh take on Spiderman… The Sam Rami/ Tobey Spidey is getting old. Time for a reboot!
@790
I liked Matrix 2&3 as well, although I feel the first was the best; I thought Speed Racer had it’s moments but overall was flawed (I really enjoyed the racing scenes).
Thanks John,,,
I found all the Speed Racer fans are posting on Filmschoolrejects.
Lol,,,
Its their biggest post in months.
Dvd’s coming out tomarrow !!!!!!!
COOL BEANS !!!
I’ve heard that a remake/reboot of John Hughes’ “The Breakfast Club” is in the works. What about other Hughes movies?
- Ferris Bueller might be good, even though the original is perfect. Maybe Ferris’ son pulls the same stunt?
- Would anyone dare to tackle the “vacation” movies? Might be enough of them already!
- what about some of the other Hughes teen-romance/comedies? Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful?, Sixteen Candles (could do a “40 candles?)
I haven’t gone through all the responses….but has anyone mentioned a “GODFATHER” reboot????
You know, that was actually on my original list when I was considering what to include but I ended up pruning it out.
Vic
doubt their will be anymore Rocky Enless it isn’t about Rocky The Champ but Rocky training a New Champ but doubt Sly Go for it. Yeah they never touch back to the future that is a classic. I really think I am going to submit some of my scripts because what happened to new fresh Ideas. The Matrix will not have a Sequel it was always planned as a Trilogy and then the online game to launch the endless story after The Matrix. Love the Matrix and wouldn’t mind another Sequel but I feel the story is done in its film version.
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