Major League

This baseball comedy from 1989 is currently under discussion for a reboot. Morgan Creek Productions has held onto the rights to this one, despite looking to sell most of their other properties. The original had Charlie Sheen and Wesley Snipes in its cast, and quadrupled its tiny $11 million budget at the U.S. box office. On behalf of our Cleveland-based staff members, let’s hope they keep this one based in The Land too.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

This John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart Western has been reimagined as “an urban crime/thriller in the vein of The Departed, The Town and Mystic River.” The outlaws from the original have been recast as Polish gangsters. Yup. Moving on…

Masters of the Universe

Over two years since McG was appointed as director of the new Masters of the Universe film, we finally have concrete news that the movie is actually going to happen… with Aaron and Adam Nee directing. Sony has confirmed a release date for the movie, and we can expect it on March 5, 2021. Only Noah Centineo is so far cast in the role of He-Man, but we hope Dolph Lundgren gets a glorious cameo!

read more: The Wonderful Worldbuilding of The Masters of the Universe

Memento

The film that launched Christopher Nolan’s career, Memento, is getting remade. Seemingly, the mighty Mr. Nolan is not involved at all. It’s fair to say that the groundswell of online commenters weren’t very pleased when this news was announced.

It is (or was?) AMBI Pictures who are bankrolling the remake, and they have also bought the rights to Cruel Intentions, I Heart Huckabees, The Passion Of The Christ, Rush, Robot & Frank, and Donnie Darko. In 2015, Memento seemed to be their top priority. It’s been quieter since then though.

Mortal Kombat

New Line continues with its plan to reboot the Mortal Kombat movies, and it’s recruited James Wan–director of The Conjuring and Fast & Furious 7–to produce the new movie. The project is being directed by first-timer Simon McQuoid and is set to star Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, and Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade. The movie is due out in March 2021, and we have more about it right here.

Mulan

Underrated movie Mulan, one that’s often overlooked when the Walt Disney Animation Studios output of the late 1990s is quickly, and unfairly written off. But now it’s getting its time in the sun again. Disney’s series of live-action remakes continues to unfold with great expediency. Liu Yifei will be playing the girl who saved an empire after a months-long search during which time Disney interviewed over a thousand actresses across five continents. The film also has high pedigree in its direction from Niki Caro. The director enjoys an outstanding reputation for directing pictures like 2002’s Oscar nominated film, Whale Rider. Mulan will be getting down to business to defeat the Huns when it opens in theaters in March 2020.

read more: Mulan Remake: Everything We Know

The Naked Gun

There was recent movement in this decade to reboot The Naked Gun in the vein of the recent Vacation redo, which was more of a follow-up about the next generation starring Ed Helms. Indeed, Helms was previously attached to this remake but has since fallen out. Yet producer David Zucker promised as recently in 2018 that movement on a reboot is on. He even confirmed it is still about the son of Frank Drebin, saying, “Now it’s the son of Frank Drebin. There’s an evil Russian crime lord who killed Frank Drebin and swore to kill every Drebin he could find in the phone book so he and his mother Jane (Priscilla Presley) are in witness protection.”

A Nightmare on Elm Street

A second attempt to reboot the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series has been put into development by New Line. Following the underwhelming 2010 version, which saw Jackie Earle Haley take over the role of Freddy Krueger from Robert Englund, New Line opted not to press ahead with a sequel. Most recently writer and producer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick told Gamespot he is still working on the reboot, but The Conjuring franchise is on the frontburner at New Line. Still, Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah have also revealed they’d like to reboot the franchise, so there is interest all around to make something happen.

further reading: Is Dream Warriors the Best A Nightmare on Elm Street?

Night at the Museum

Another Disney+ priority for the Mouse after consuming the Fox, there is not a lot known currently other than this will reboot (or loosely continue?) the 20th Century Fox produced Night at the Museum movies. The original trilogy was directed by Shawn Levy and of course starred Ben Stiller as a down-on-his-luck security guard recently hired by the Natural History Museum in New York City. But then he discovers a great secret: at night all the fossils, artifacts, and stuffed animals in the museum come alive!

Night of the Comet

Thom Eberhardt’s 1984 cult classic is heading for a remake with Roxanne Benjamin (Body at Brighton Rock) writing a screenplay for Orion Pictures. The original told the story of two sisters (played by Kelli Maroney and Catherine Mary Stewart) who battled cannibal zombies after an exctinction event, and the film went on to have a big influence on Joss Whedon when he made Buffy. There’s no word yet on when the Night of the Comet remake will begin production, and no release date has been set, but Benjamin confirmed in March 2019 that the script is done.

Nosferatu

The classic 1922 horror is being reworked by Studio 8, which previously hired Robert Eggers to write and direct its new take. Initially he cast his Witch leading lady, Anya Taylor-Joy, to play a lead role in the film but the movie has since apparently hit a wall. We spoke with Eggers about the project in October 2019 and he said “it would be a real shame” if the movie never got made. However, as it’s since been confirmed his next movie is a Vikings film called The Northman, we suspect this one may have gotten away.

Pirates of the Caribbean

This one isn’t officially confirmed yet, but everything seems to be pointing towards a Depp-less Pirates reboot. Disney clearly want to make a sixth film in the series, but rumours surrounding Depp’s personal life are looking likely to be a bit too contraversial for them to hire him back as Captain Jack. That could all still change, of course, but we’re expect a new lead to be annouced soon.

Planet of the Apes

Even though 20th Century Fox surprisingly, and miraculously, just rebooted this ancient franchise into something special in the past decade with the Andy Serkis-led Caesar trilogy, a Planet of the Apes reboot has become a top priority by Disney. This is the first reboot-minded mining of Fox’s library by the Mouse that is being pegged for a theatrical release. Wes Ball of The Maze Runner fame has been pegged to write and direct the reboot.

read more: Continuity of the Planet of the Apes Films Explained!

Private Benjamin

Private Benjamin–the 1980 Goldie Hawn comedy which spawned a TV show as well as making a splash cinematically–at one point was getting the remake treatment. In 2014 it was announced Rebel Wilson was circling the project with an eye to star in it. That obviously did not happen, and the word has been mum on the movie ever since.

Pumpkinhead

The 1988 demonic horror flick Pumpkinhead is being remade for the modern cinematic age. Peter Block, one of Saw‘s executive producers, has picked up the rights and put a reboot into development.

“There is a similarity of theme and a similarity of story,” Block told EW. “There’s a lot of Easter eggs for people who know the original — iconic shots and iconic lines that we’re going to use. But we’ve enhanced the setting, and we’ve expanded the characters somewhat, to give it a different kind of experience.” As recently as November 2019, Block has assured the press the movie is happening.

Red Sonja

For a long time, Rose McGowan was set to take the title role in a Red Sonja reboot, and Robert Rodriguez was developing the movie with an eye on directing it. But then things fell apart, with Con Air‘s Simon West next to be linked. He too movied on, as did potential stars Megan Fox and Amber Heard. In 2018, Bryan Singer was infamously attached to direct, but there were several unspoken reasons why that probably wasn’t a great idea. The film has since shifted again with it being revealed in summer 2019 that Transparent‘s Jill Soloway is slated to direct. We’ll believe it when we see it, but getting a woman to direct this problematic material is probably a smart move.

Resident Evil

You probably saw it coming, but maybe not as fast as it did. As soon as the last movie in the Resident Evil film franchise left theaters, a reboot of the whole thing was announced. At this point, it is being written and directed by Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down). Ok doke, then. To be fair, he recently told Slashfilm it will be much more horrific, like the games, than the Paul W.S. Anderson franchise that came before it.

read more: The George Romero Resident Evil We Never Saw

Road House

The Patrick Swayze favorite was pegged for a remake back since at least 2013. More recently Ronda Rousey–the UFC fighter who popped up in Furious 7 and the Entourage film–nabbed the lead role. We also know that Michael Stokes had penned a screenplay for the new film, and that Rob Cohen, of xXx and The Fast and the Furious, was set to direct at some stage. All parties then departed, however, and Nick Cassavettes (The Notebook, Alpha Dog) was the last director attached. With that said, Cassavetes wrote a screneplay with Cassie Pappas (Tyrant), so the project might still be developing.

Scarface

Universal have been losing directors by the handful for the latest screen version of Scarface, following Howard Hawks’ 1932 original and Brian De Palma’s 1983 remake. Martin Bregman and Marc Shmuger are producing (Bregman also produced the De Palma version) though, and the setting this time will be present day Los Angeles. Last we heard, Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer was working on the script and Antoine Fuqua was attached again as director. Diego Luna has also remained attached through several interations of the project as the new Tony, but last we heard Fuqua and Luna were working with another writer on another version of a script once previously penned by the Coen Brothers.

She’s All That

The oeuvre of Freddie Prinze Jr. has attracted the interest of film remakers. Miramax was working on a new She’s All That, which in turn was loosely based on Pygmalion, but the project seems to have stalled after the Weinstein fallout. Tonya Lewis Lee was set to produce the new film, and Kenny Leon was linked with the director’s chair on the project… once.

Short Circuit

As much as we love them, Short Circuit and Short Circuit 2 are a pair of films that really do show their age. That said, the raw materials remain fun, and perhaps that’s why Dimension Films remain keen on a new Short Circuit franchise. They’ve hired Tim Hill, of the first two Alvin and the Chipmunks movies (as well as Muppets From Space), to direct the new film, with Matt Lieberman writing. We’re going to get an edgier robot too, we gather. Fisher Stevens, who appeared in the first two movies, is linked with the new one. But there’s been no word on the new Short Circuit for a little while now. Has the project been quietly dropped, we wonder?

Shrek

Chris Meledandri, the founder and CEO of Illumination Entertainment, has been tasked with rebooting the Shrek-verse, and it sounds like he wants to keep some elements of the originals (ie, the voices) intact. “Reboot” is still the term being used here though, so this will likely be a very new story with the same old characters. Could it even have a completely different art style?

Sister Act

The first Sister Act movie was a big surprise hit in 1992, one of the biggest of Whoopi Goldberg’s career. The second, Back in the Habit, wasn’t, but the Sister Act name then went to Broadway and enjoyed a fresh wave of success. Whoppi Goldberg has since confirmed she will not be involved in the movie in any major capacity and that it is essentially a remake. Further what is still being bandied about as “Sister Act 3” will be developed exclusively for Disney’s streaming service, Disney+. Insecure‘s Regina Hicks and Star‘s Karin Gist are writing the screenplay.

Spawn

When creator Todd McFarlane announced that he was ready to direct and write a new Spawn reboot film for the paltry sum of $10 million, many (admittedly, including ourselves) threw shade at the idea that it would actually ever happen. The first attempt to bring the antihero to the big screen was a massive failure, and McFarlane’s insistence that he be the one to rule the roost with complete creative control seemed unworkable for the majority of the studios he approached with the project.

But then Blumhouse stepped in. The low budget horror production house behind smash hits like Get Out and Sinister was willing to put up the touted $10 mil… as long as no one got paid until it made a profit. Everyone seemingly agreed to these terms, and production was poised to be underway in 2017 with Jamie Foxx and Jeremy Renner starring. And then… it didn’t happen. McFarlane insisted in 2019 that he’s still fighting the good fight, but mum’s the word.

Splash

Producer Brian Grazer once confirmed that plans are afoot for a new take on the 1984 hit, Splash. Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah starred in Ron Howard’s original version, while Channing Tatum and Jillian Bell were originally set to appear in the remake. Tatum is playing a merman. Hanks later gave the revival his blessing. Still, there’s been no movement on this project since 2016, although Bell said in 2019 that it is still happening. One might assume it’d be a good fit for Disney+ at htis point…

Starship Troopers

A new take on Robert Heinlein’s book Starship Troopers is supposed to be coming to the big screen. Mark Swift and Damian Shannon, the duo who worked on the Baywatch movie, wrote what is rumored to be a “faithful” adaptation of Heinlein’s novel. Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 took a satirical angle at the source material, which has been described as”militaristic” and “fascistic,” by echoing Nazi propaganda films like Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will, but hey, a direct approach at adapting the novel will probably go over like gangbusters in today’s day and age. Verhoeven agrees, previously saying a fascist remake would be perfect for the Trump presidency. Yikes…

read more: The Use of Ads in Starship Troopers and RoboCop

Strangers on a Train

This one’s stalled out, but is intriguing enough of an idea we actually support seeing it rebound. The Gone Girl team of director David Fincher and writer Gillian Flynn were revealed to be attached to a new take on Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train. One that would star Ben Affleck and be set on a fateful train ride the evening of the Academy Awards ceremony, and in which Affleck would play a movie star roped into murder. That was at the start of January 2015. Since then, Flynn has admitted that their schedules have made fitting the project in tricky, but it’s still believed to be on the proverbial stove. We’re still open to it, if only due to Fincher’s bemusing idea of setting it in the entertainment industry.

read more: 10 Best Alfred Hitchcock Movies

Stuart Little

The trilogy of movies based on E.B. White’s Stuart Little resulted in one big hit, one decent hit, and one straight to DVD release in the ’90s and ’00s. Sony is thus going back to the drawing board for a new Stuart Little, which we’re told are going to be “more comedic” this time around. There’s no timescale on the project as of yet though.

Sword in the Stone

Disney’s 1963 animated feature is getting the live action remake treatment. Bryan Cogman, a writer and producer on Game of Thrones, is working on the screenplay for a new movie. He was also involved in Disney’s 2016 remake of The Jungle Book. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) is meanwhile tapped to direct.

The Ten Commandments

The biblical tale of Moses and the Ten Commandments has been told on screen several times over the years. The best known version until now was Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 production, which picked up an Academy Award for Best Special Effects. This one comes from Paramount, and not long after Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings trod similar ground. There’s no director attached yet.

read more: Can the Biblical Epic be Resurrected?

Terms of Endearment

The new version of Terms of Endearment will see Larry McMurty’s source novel mined once more, and Lee Daniels (The Butler) is in line to direct this time around. Furthermore, Oprah Winfrey is on board, and she’s set to take on the role of Aurora in the new movie. There’s no word yet on who will be taking on the role of her daughter.

The Thomas Crown Affair

A second remake of the 1968 Steve McQueen-starring heist movie, The Thomas Crown Affair is currently in development. We already got the Pierce Brosnan version in 1999, and now Creed star Michael B. Jordan is believed to be attached to a new take on the material. No director attached yet, as far as we know.

Timecop

1994’s Timecop was one of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s biggest ever hits. It was based on a comic book, and a new take on the material is in the planning stages. Mark and Brian Gunn, who penned Journey 2: The Mysterious Island were once writing a script, and the new Timecop will be – get your remake buzzword bingo card ready – gritty, more grounded, with the sci-fi in the background. That was almost seven years ago, so maybe not hold your breath for this, eh?

Toxic Avenger

Just a few years ago, the mooted remake of Troma’s Toxic Avenger had Arnold Schwarzenegger interested in taking a supporting role. Steve Pink, who helmed Hot Tub Time Machine 2, penned the script for the new film, and he confirmed earlier in the year that the screenplay had been completed. Arnie, though, opted to make Terminator: Genisys instead, and that left Toxic Avenger in limbo. The project was then getting nowhere fast, including when Sausage Party‘s Conrad Vernon became attached to direct. Most recently it has seen its prospects dissolve into radioactive goo, but regeneration might be just around the corner. In late 2018, Legendary Pictures picked up the rights to attempt the remake next.

read more: A Brief History of Troma’s Superhero Franchise

Valley Girl

The original Valley Girl featured Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman, neither of whom are near the new version it seems. Instead, Poldark star Josh Whitehouse has nabbed the lead this time around, playing the punk rock musician who falls for a girl who’s not so punk-rocky. Jessica Rothe is his co-star in the new film, that Amy Lee Talkington and Marti Noxon have penned the screenplay for. Behind the camera this time is Rachel Lee Goldenberg. The film has been completed but there is no release date as of yet.

Van Helsing

A reboot of Van Helsing has been planned for years. That does not look likely to change. The script was previously in the hands of writer Dan Mazeau. Mazeau, whose only major credited screenplay was the 2012 Greek myth series sequel Wrath of the Titans, is in the process of rewriting the Van Helsing script after it was originally drafted by The Mummy writer Jon Spaihts (Passengers) and Eric Heisserer (Arrival). Universal was intending their new take to be part of their Dark Universe though, so the plans have likely been shelved for the time being. During that dark (heh) period, the studio had its eye on Channing Tatum. But everything regarding the classic monster characters now appears to be in flux.

The Warriors

Huge fans of Walter Hill’s The Warriors here, which occasionally finds itself thrown into remake discussions. Way back when, Mark Neveldine, the co-writer/director of the Crank films, admitted that he and Brian Taylor are interested in tackling a new take on The Warriors. “It’s just in rights hell at the moment,” he told Screencrush at the time. Since then the project appears to have stalled and the last we heard, the Russo Brothers were tasked fresh off Captain America: Civil War to produce a television series adaptation, so maybe expect the reboot for the small screen?

White Men Can’t Jump

The 1992 basketball comedy White Men Can’t Jump, starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, is (or at least was) in line for a big screen do-over. In 2017, it was in the hands of Kenya Barris, the creator of Black-ish, and 20th Century Fox was backing the project, as it did the original. Barris would produce and write. However, the shape of the project post Disney takeover remains a mystery.

The Wild Bunch

Mel Gibson is writing and directing a remake of The Wild Bunch. There were once plans for the remake to be set in the a modern day (with Will Smith taking on a Mexican cartel) but it seems like Gibson is sticking with the Western genre. Since the original film is considered to be one of the best Westerns ever made, there’s quite a lot riding on this one…

The Wolfman

Not many people look back at the troubled production of 2010’s The Wolfman with much fondness. Not many people look back with fondness at the film itself either. Nonetheless, a further reboot was planned as part of Universal’s dark universe. Aaron Guzikowski, who wrote the excellent Prisoners, was on scripting duties, but the project has been shelved ever since the Dark Universe failed to take off.

Wrong Turn

Five sequels is clearly enough, so it’s time to start again with Wrong Turn. Constantin Films has tapped franchise creator Alan B. McElroy to write a script that updates his original cannibal-killers-in-the-woods concept, with Mike P. Nelson (The Domestics, Studio Luma) set to direct. The reboot will apparently lose the basic “car breaks down in the wrong place” concept, and focus on a group of hikers who find a load of cannibal killers in the woods instead. The film now has the title Wrong Turn: The Foundation and is expected in 2020.

Your Name

Your Name has been one of the global box office successes of 2017, notching up over $350 million of business across the world, off the back of ecstatic reviews. That’s the kind of money that makes Hollywood interested, so of course an American live-action remake of the film is on the cards. J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot company has picked up the rights, and Abrams himself will be one of the producers of the movie. He isn’t likely to direct though, not least due to his commitment to Star Wars: Episode IX.

A screenwriter has already been hired, though. Eric Heisserer, best known for Arrival, is set to write the script for this one.

Zorro Reborn