The website What’s Playing broke the news a few weeks ago that there was a remake afoot of the Rick Moranis-starring 1989 comedy hit (this was one of the three films that Moranis had in the US box office top 20 at the same time, fact fans). It’s not going to be a direct sequel, apparently, which is hardly surprisingly considering that Rick Moranis has retired from acting. But it’s a project that’s nonetheless reportedly in quiet development.

THE HOWLING

The plans to reboot The Howling as a horror franchise are reportedly under way, with Joe Nimziki writing and directing. The working title is The Howling Reborn, and the original plan was to get it finished this year. We’re not quite sure how that plan is going right now, though…

JACK RYAN

A third reboot for the Jack Ryan film franchise since Alec Baldwin first took the role in The Hunt For Red October, Paramount is predictably looking to go younger with its next version. With that in mind, Star Trek‘s Chris Pine has already been cast in the role, and this time it won’t be a Tom Clancy novel forming the foundations of the story. Instead, an original screenplay has been commissioned, which is now being rewritten by Adam Cozad. Paramount will presumably be keen to get this one moving sooner rather than later.

JURASSIC PARK

It’s still not entirely clear whether the planned three more Jurassic Park films that JP3 directorJoe Johnston hinted at recently form a full-on reboot of the franchise, but it’s not a wild suggestion that that’s the case. Jurassic Park 4 is, of course, a film that’s had more than its fair share of false starts, and Johnston himself will be occupied with The First Avenger: Captain America for the next 18 months or so. But after that? The man seems keen to walk with the dinosaurs once more. Spielberg is unlikely to direct a Jurassic Park film again, though.

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Cloverfield helmer Matt Reeves has signed on to do the Hollywood remake of the hugely acclaimed Let The Right One In, and he’ll be both writing and directing the film. The cast for the US version has been revealed too, with Richard Jenkins, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Hit-Girl herself, Chloe Moretz, on board. The US version will be called ‘Let Me In’, and the film has an October release date.

MONSTER SQUAD

Serial-remaker Platinum Dunes has got its teeth stuck into a new version of The Monster Squad. The 1987 original was directed by Fred Dekker and produced by Rob Cohen, and Cohen is on board this new version too. Platinum Dunes is currently hunting for an appropriate screenwriter for the project.

MR & MRS SMITH

Odd one, this, and we’re not sure how much substance there is to it. However, Fox is reportedly planning to reboot Mr & Mrs Smith with a younger, 20-something pair of actors who will play the agents having to set up a fake marriage. It’d be a side story to the one that made it to the big screen with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie on board, but that would also make it a lot cheaper. No formal announcement has been made, although Akiva Goldsman is reportedly attached to produce the film.

MR VENGEANCE

Chan-wook Park’s Sympathy For Mr Vengeance is getting the Hollywood remake treatment, with Brian Tucker having written the script for the America version. There’s no word yet on a director, although plenty of producers seem attached to the project. A 2012 release is mooted.

NATIONAL LAMPOON’S VACATION

New Line is looking to bring the National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise back to life, and is working on a sequel of sorts about a road trip that will bring Chevy Chase back, but in a grandfather role. The new film is being written by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, and David Dobkin – of Wedding Crashers fame – is producing and possibly directing.

THE NEVERENDING STORY

2012 is when, if all goes to plan, we’ll be seeing the reboot of The NeverEnding Story. Frank Marshall is attached to produce the film, although there seems little evidence of a screenplay coming together as of yet. The rights were believed to be causing a problem, which may have thrown a spanner in the proverbial works.

NIKITA

Luc Besson’s original film La Femme Nikita has already inspired a Hollywood remake starring Bridget Fonda, and a spin-off TV series. Now? The CW is rebooting the TV show, and is putting together a pilot episode that will star Maggie Q in the title role. The basic premise will see the show set after the first Nikita TV show, with a new candidate being trained up after the last one went rogue.

THE ORPHANAGE

Acclaimed horror film The Orphanage, produced by Guillermo del Toro, is getting an English language redo, and Mark Pellington is the man set to direct it. Pellington’s credits include The Mothman Prophecies, U2 3D and the underrated Arlington Road, and he’s working from a script from Larry Fessenden and del Toro. The project is currently in pre-production, pending release in 2011.

OVERBOARD

The 80s comedy vehicle for Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn is being prepped for remake treatment. The project is still at the writing stage, and at one stage Jennifer Lopez was linked to it. Sony will be looking to get the film into cinemas, ideally, next year if it can.

PET SEMETARY

Stephen King’s novel is inspiring another film version, this time with Matt Greenberg on scripting duties. Greenberg was the man who penned the moderately-interesting 1408 (also based on a King book), with Lorenzi di Bonaventura producing. It may yet make it for a 2011 release.

THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH

Now here’s an odd one. Gary Ross had been linked with directing a Venom spin-off movie for Sony, after he’d finished script work on the cancelled Spider-Man 4. But his attention may instead be turning to a 1970 Chuck Jones animated film by the name of The Phantom Tollbooth. We’ve not seen the original, but it sounds really quite interesting, and Ross’ take on the material will see a mix of live action and animation to bring the world to life. It’s still in the early stages, and it’s attached to Warner Bros.

PLANET OF THE APES

The last attempt to reboot the Planet Of The Apes franchise hardly went to plan, but that’s not stopped Fox from investigating another attempt. The current status of the next Apes film is that Jamie Moss (Street Kings) has been hired to rework a script by Scott Frank (Minority Report). There’s no director attached at the moment, given that Frank was set to take on helming duties before a fresh writer was hired. But work continues on the script for the time being.

POLICE ACADEMY

Producer Paul Maslansky has confirmed that he’s working on a fresh Police Academy movie that will bring in a new collection of (cheaper) recruits. It seems he’s looking to kickstart the franchise once more, but he’s now talking about bringing back some of the familiar faces from the original series too to tutor the new cadets. No word yet on when it’s going into production, but Maslansky seems keen to get cracking.

Police Academy reboot to bring in original cast?

PORKY’S

Howard Stern has been linked with a remake of Porky’s for a year or two now, and work has been done on the script for the new version. The aim is still to get the film before the cameras this year, with Stern as a consulting producer, to get it in cinemas in 2011. The formal green light has not yet been forthcoming, though.

RED DAWN

This one’s already in post-production, pending a release on 24th November of this year. Dan Bradley has directed a cast that includes Chris Hemsworth, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Adrianne Palicki. Here’s hoping they haven’t screwed it up…

ROBOCOP

Even though the project has been stuck in limbo for some time, plans are still afoot to bringRobocop back to the big screen. Darren Aronofsky is apparently still interested in making the film, but nobody can move forward until the ownership issues surrounding MGM have been resolved. That’s likely to be sorted in the coming weeks, given that bids for the studio are now being submitted. Once the new owner is known, then expect Robocop to stomp his way back into cinemas.

ROCKFORD

NBC’s reboot of The Rockford Files is at the pilot episode stage, with Dermot Mulroney taking the lead role. Also on board is Alan Tudyk, and the pilot is set to shoot first, with the aim clearly of getting a full season commission.

ROMANCING THE STONE

One of the assorted properties from its back catalogue that 20th Century Fox is investigating a new take on, the latest we have on the planned new version of Romancing The Stone is that Robert Luketic has been linked with the director’s chair (he helmed Legally Blonde, The Ugly Truth and 21), and that there’s a loose 2011 planned release, which we’d be surprised if the film hit. We’ll keep you posted.

THE SHADOW

Attempt two to turn The Shadow into a movie franchise sees Sam Raimi producing and original director Russell Mulcahy nowhere near it. It’s unlikely that Raimi will direct, given that he’s circling the World Of Warcraft movie, yet David Slade may well be in line too. Slade is finishing up Twilight: Eclipse, and he’s previously given the world Hard Candy and 30 Days Of Night.

SHORT CIRCUIT

The return of Johnny Five to the big screen is still in development, with Steve Carr attached to direct the film. Carr helmed Paul Blart: Mall Cop for Sony, and the new Short Circuit film has been penned by Dan Milano. The plan is to have it in cinemas in 2011.

SIX PACK

We’d never heard of the original, to be fair, which starred Kenny Rogers in the lead role. The film is about a race driver who suddenly finds himself in charge of six kids. Don’t ask how, but Facebook is bound to be involved somewhere in the remake. 20th Century Fox is the studio behind this one and, interestingly, David Gordon Green is writing and directing. He’s the man who brought the world The Pineapple Express. No word on when production begins, but this one seems to have a better chance than most of happening.

SPAWN

The first movie that spun out of Todd McFarlane’s Spawn was, if we’re being charitable, not very good at all. However, that’s not stopped him pressing ahead with an attempt to reboot the cinematic franchise, and this time, he’s going down the indie route. McFarlane has apparently nearly finished the script, and is then planning to make the film on a tight budget. Watch this space.

SPIDER-MAN

We’re guessing you know about this one already. Sony abandoned its plans to make a costlySpider-Man 4 with director Sam Raimi in favour of a rebooted franchise with (500) Days Of Summer helmer Marc Webb in charge. The modest $80m budget probably helped sway the decision, too. The casting for the new Spider-Man is yet to be announced, with any young Hollywood actor with pubic hair seemingly linked to it at some point. But Sony is targeting a summer 2012 release date.

SPY KIDS

Robert Rodriguez belted out three Spy Kids movies in fairly quick time, each of which went on to be a fairly sizeable hit. It’s been many years since he’s been near the films, though, but it’s now confirmed that a new Spy Kids movie is being lined up for release next year. It’s a full on reboot, with new kids coming into the cast too. It’s set for release on August 19th 2011.

SUPERMAN

Warner Bros finally seems to have worked out what to do with the Superman franchise, and it’s appointed Dark Knight helmer Christopher Nolan to act in a ‘godfather’ role for the cinematic franchise. Jonathan Nolan and David Goyer are working on a script for the new film, with the former also linked with the director’s chair. But we’re guessing Christopher Nolan’s next Batmanfilm will still take immediate priority. Superman could be back in cinemas for 2013, though.

SUSPICION

Reports circulated earlier this year that a remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s Suspicion had been set up, and was attracting the attention of Will Smith. Smith has been linked with producing duties and a starring role, but that’s all we have on the project thus far.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

The animated TMNT had a decent stab, but hardly brought the Turtles back to their big screen glory days. That’s not discouraged another attempt to do so, though, with The Mirage Group working away at a new live action adventure. It’s going to be the origins story that the new film focuses on, and Peter Laird – the co-creator of the Turtles – is also involved. Rumours suggest we might not have to endure entirely CGI turtles, too. The plan was to get the film out in 2011, although that may yet prove a little optimistic.

TEEN WOLF

The Michael J Fox classic movie is heading for the small screen, with MTV casting Tyler Posey in the title role this time around. The pilot episode, which was written by Jeff Davies, has been helmed by Highlander director Russell Mulcahy. If that’s successful, then the full series will follow. We talked to Russell Mulcahy about the project, and he defended it here.

THE THING

The long-rumoured reboot for The Thing is currently lensing, with Matthijs van Heijningen Jr in the poisoned chalice that is the director’s chair. They’ve opted to go with a prequel story, and the cast features Joel Edgerton and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. The formal title of the new film remains unconfirmed, but chances are you’ll be seeing it within a year.

TOMB RAIDER

You’ll not be getting Angelina Jolie this time around, but a new cinematic outing for Lara Croft is nonetheless in the offing. The new Tomb Raider is currently in development, with Warner Bros showing interest. Thus far, Megan Fox has distanced herself from playing the lead role. 2012 would be the earliest you could expect to see the new film.

THE TOURIST

A remake of the French thriller Anthony Zimmer, The Tourist is currently before the cameras and starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. What lifts this project above the norm, apart from the star name cast, is the fact that it’s being directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. Never heard of him? Then check out his stunning 2006 movie The Lives Of Others. The Tourist, meanwhile, has been penned by Julian Fellowes and Christopher McQuarrie, and is set for release in 2011.

TRUE GRIT

The Coen Brothers came a bit of a cropper with their remake of The Ladykillers. This time, though, it’s the John Wayne western True Grit that’s in their sights. Their version is adapted from the original book, and Matt Damon is on board to star, along with Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin, Hailee Steinfeld and Barry Pepper. The film is set for release on 25th December of this year in the States.

VIDEODROME

Ehren Kruger, now that he’s finished work on the Transformers 3 script, is the man given the job of scripting the planned remake of David Cronenberg’s 1983 classic. He’s set to give the film a more contemporary feel although, right now, there’s no sign of it going into production. Universal is targeting a 2011 release, though.

THE WARRIORS

We love Walter Hill’s original The Warriors movie, and continue to shudder at the mere thought of it being remade. Tony Scott is attached to it, which doesn’t dampen our fears given what he managed to do with The Taking Of Pelham 123. Paramount has the project in pre-production, we believe, with the new screenplay already in place and relocating the action to Los Angeles. Casting seems to have begun too, ahead of a potential release in 2011. Don’t screw this one up, Tony…

WESTWORLD

The late Michael Crichton’s book has already inspired a cracking movie, and unsurprisingly, Hollywood remains keen to remake it. Billy Ray – who’s reportedly currently at work on the 24movie – was the last to take a crack at the script for this one, and Jerry Weintraub is producing. There’s still no director, though, and the earliest we’d get to see the film is 2012.

YELLOW SUBMARINE

Director Robert Zemeckis is applying his motion capture technology to The Beatles’ classic animated movie. His cast is rumoured to feature Cary Elwes, Peter Serafinowicz, and Dean Lennox Kelly on voicing duties, and Zemeckis is hoping to have the film ready to rock and roll (see what we did there?) in 2012.