Seth MacFarlane's Revenge of the Nerds reboot will not include the original film's controversial sexual assault scene. Directed by Jeff Kanew, the 1984 comedy starred Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards as Lewis and Gilbert, two friends at the fictional Adams College, who lead a group of fellow nerds to take on the Alpha Betas, a jock fraternity who bully them relentlessly. The nerds take revenge by joining Lambda Lambda Lambda, a historically Black fraternity. The movie was a blockbuster hit upon release, spawning multiple sequels and becoming a cult classic in the college comedy genre, though many agree that the film has not aged well.
Though Revenge of the Nerds was intended to be an underdog comedy about outcasts overcoming bullies, the movie reveals multiple problematic aspects, including racial stereotyping and glorifying sexual assault. In a scene referred to as "rape-by-deception," Lewis sees his crush Betty, who is in the Alpha Betas' sister sorority, Pi Delta Pi, fighting with her jock boyfriend, Stan. Lewis takes this as an opportunity to slip on Stan's Darth Vader mask and trick Betty into having sex with him, thinking he is Stan. Though Betty is pleasantly surprised when Lewis reveals himself and the two end up together in the end, the scene has since come under fire for its depiction of rape and how Lewis's behavior was essentially rewarded.
Now a reboot by Family Guy and The Orville creator Seth MacFarlane is in development, and the comedy film is already reported to feature some changes from the original. According to Variety, MacFarlane's Revenge of the Nerds reboot will not be a remake, rather a reimagining that will focus on nerd and geek culture today.
The 20th Century Studios reboot will star 22 Jump Street's Kenny and Keith Lucas, who are co-writing the script with Alex Rubens. MacFarlane will produce the film under his Fuzzy Door banner along with Erica Huggins. While the exact plot has not been revealed yet, the reboot sounds like it will not feature that same problematic scene, which Kanew and writer Steve Zacharias have since admitted they regret.
Considering Revenge of the Nerds could never be made today the same way it was in 1984, the reboot will hopefully be made to be more timeless. Described as a more modern take on the original, it sounds like the reboot will depict the nerds in a better light. While the nerds were triumphant in the end, the original movie tended to show the nerds having an obsession with sex, with Lewis even commenting that all nerds think about is sex. Nerd culture has undoubtedly changed since the way nerdy characters were stereotyped in the '80s and 90's movies, so it will be interesting to see MacFarlane and the Lucas Brothers' take on the college comedy.
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Source: Variety