If you grew up in the ‘80s, Starman is one of those movies you watched a lot. It was basically on all the time, and told a great story about an alien and woman falling in love while on the run. That simplicity and familiarity mean only one thing: it’s time for a remake.


The Hollywood Reporter says that Shawn Levy, the director of the Night at the Museum films and Real Steel, will direct this new Starman from a screenplay by Arash Amel.

The original 1984 film was directed by John Carpenter when he was on one of the best rolls of his career: Escape from New York, The Thing, Christine then Starman. He followed it up Big Trouble in Little China. Not bad! And yet, Starman almost doesn’t fit in that mix. Despite its scifi premise, it’s a very human film, anchored by an Oscar-nominated performance by Jeff Bridges.


So it was a great film by a great filmmaker at the top of his game. Shawn Levy is without a doubt a talented, capable filmmaker, but he usually adds a little more spectacle or slapstick into his films. Starman is something that’s much more subtle. It’ll be interesting to see where he goes with it.