Irishman Colin Farrell as Douglas Quaid in the Total Recall remake? With Underworld director Len Wiseman at the helm? And the project will neither be shot in nor post-converted to 3D? Is it all an illusion, a dream in the mind of some over-imaginative Hollywood screenwriter?
Producer Neil Moritz says it’s all true and has opened up a bit about the design of the new cinematic take on revered sci-fi author Philip K. Dick’s short story, “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” – which Moritz says will begin production this spring.
While he’s currently promoting this Friday’s 3D comic book release, The Green Hornet, Mortiz managed to find time for an interview with Collider to discuss some of his upcoming projects – including the Total Recall remake. Moritz indicated that Farrell is onboard for the film, which the producer also said would bear a stronger resemblance to Dick’s source material than Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall did and will feature “a great twist” as well as a futuristic vehicle that transports individuals from one side of a planet to another in an innovative fashion.
The Battle: Los Angeles producer also emphasized the larger scale of the new Total Recall, saying that the setting (Earth in the year 2084) would feel very real in that it will feature feasible technological advancements and cities that have expanded vertically to handle overpopulation on Earth. Moritz also cited the scope of the project as having influenced the decision to not make Total Recall in 3D since “it would be too much.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger in the original 'Total Recall'.
Total Recall is the tale of regular guy Douglas Quad (Arnold Schwarzenegger in Verhoeven’s film; now Farrell), who undergoes a process in which fake memories are implanted in his brain so that he may go on a virtual vacation to Mars. This process re-awakens Quaid to his long-buried true identity and inspires him to actually travel to the red planet in real life. That a man who bears an eery resemblance to Leonardo DiCaprio in a business suit accompanies Quaid on his journey is just an odd coincidence. 
Like Christopher Nolan’s Inception, Total Recall blurs the line between reality and fantasy as Quaid encounters numerous bizarre entities and characters upon reaching the Martian world – one that may be an utter fabrication of Quaid’s mind or inexplicably real. The “is it all a dream?” sci-fi plot may not be as fresh today as when Dick published his original story back in 1966, but it’s still an intriguing one that should benefit from being bought to life via higher production values and modern F/X.
According to Moritz, Total Recall begins shooting on May 15th, 2011 in Toronto – which means the remake could hit theaters as soon as Spring or Summer of 2012.
Source: Collider
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I just hope its as good as the original
Hmmm how UNoriginal
Colin Farell is the ultimate movie bomb bait. They will strip all the gunplay and excitement out of the film and it will end up being a dark uninspiring film with little appeal.
Why don’t they just remake ‘the prestige’ and ‘children of men’ while they’re at it, they both differentiate from the original storys… fail.
You are funny Sully
Seriously, the remake trend NEEDS to come to a halt already.
Seriously, Dick wrote sooo many short stories and plenty of them would make excellent films, and we’re going with one of the few they’ve already filmed? Look, I’m all for sticking closer to the source material, but Total Recall stayed relatively true to the material, at least in comparison to say, Paycheck or Next. We don’t need another adaptation, leastways not one that’s selling itself as a remake of the original movie.
And your comparison to Inception is right on the mark. While Nolan’s story is so different form Dick’s that the similarities are really only surface level, I can’t help but feel this new movie is just jumping on the dream bandwagon. There’s no way this movie’s “great twist” isn’t either a.) it was all a dream, or b.) it wasn’t all a dream.
The whole thing’s being dreamed by one of Ray Bradbury’s Martians…
Maybe the twist is that Quaid doesn’t exist; he’s actually a product of someone else’s imagination, someone who has become lobotomized and Quaid takes over the mind of the person. I don’t know. I liked the original; can’t believe they can do better.
The twist in the original short story (if I recall
) is that Quaid – or Quail as Dick called him – actually saved the Earth from an alien invasion, but Rekal Inc end up implanting their own amended version of the true events at the behest of his former employers. Typical Dick: layers upon layers upon layers.
This has a huge hill to climb for it to match the original…
I’m getting pissed at this trend that seems to be starting of remaking all of arnolds old movies, they are all classics… at least the ones being remade are (Total Recall, Conan, and Commando) these were some of my favorite movies growing up, and are perfectly fine the way they are. Now they are going to ruin them all… it sucks. Hopefully they don’t remake any more of them.
Wait… they’re remaking Commando too? Didn’t they already sorta do that with ‘Taken’?
@ davyb
yes, as far as i know… i think ScreenRant even reported on it a few months back. and yeah Taken has pretty much the same plot… and prolly about 100 other movies haha
The laughable part is where they want Arnold to be in the film again in the starring role.
Innovative way of transporting individuals from one side of a planet to another: getting fired out of a gigantic cannon in a squirrel suit? Pimped-up Martian tripod? 4000-mile-long flume?
Admittedly I’m a bit slow but are they remaking Total Recall or retelling Dick’s original story?
@ Jason
Yes.
Seriously though, it sounds like more of a new version of Dick’s original story, less a straight remake of Verhoeven’s adaptation.
Thank you, Sandy.
EW reports that Mars won’t be in the film. Does that upset anyone?
Doesn’t surprise me at all. Farrell not actually “getting his ass to Mars” is both closer to Dick’s original and saves a whole heap of cash on the visuals.
To be honest, Quaid didn’t go to Mars in the original film, since he was still in the lab during all the Mars stuff (in a coma). The first hint was when they asked him what type of woman he wanted and the one he chose was the one that helped him on Mars.
I thought that was kept pretty ambiguous, Kahless!
I didn’t catch it until I saw it a second time. When the Rekal tech chose the girl, it was the same actress that plays the love interest on Mars. They cut the scene pretty fast after choosing the girl but it was the same woman.
Think I need to watch it again…
Hey, lets remake Blade Runner and just call it ‘Do Android’s Dream of Electric Sheep?’. And then keep that story closer to Dick’s original.
Not looking forward to a remake of Robocop either.
This is another remake i’ll be skipping. I liked Total Recall that Arnold was in, Not to mention Sharon Stone & Michael Ironside who were great in the film as the baddies. Especially Sharon Stone, shame she was killed but it was self-defense that Arnold had to do what he had to do. Every movie of Michael Ironside, bad guy or good guy he played i enjoyed. But he’s better at playin the bad guy. I agree with Pedro’s post, i too aint thrilled about Robocop being remade.
yeah, hope they can bag a better looking chick for the multi-titty woman scene