The Latest News About Reboots, Sequels and Remakes

• "Escape from New York", John Carpenter's 1981 classic post-apocalyptic flick will be rebooted. The original starred Kurt Russell as the eye-patch wearing badass sociopath Snake Plissken who is sent into Manhattan, now a maximum-security prison, to save the President, played by Donald Pleasence. The reboot will be produced by Joel Silver ("The Matrix", "Die Hard") and the plans are to give the movie a complete makeover, including an origin story, all building up to a potential trilogy.
  
  
• Production has started on the "Godzilla" reboot directed by Gareth Edwards ("Monsters"). The film stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, David Strathairn and Bryan Cranston. Also, according to the official press release, Ken Watanabe ("Inception", "The Last Samurai") has now joined the cast. The reboot will take a realistic approach to the story. In short, they're doing it the "The Dark Knight" way, which is basically the go-to movie concept when trying to reboot anything these days. On a positive note, Frank Darabont ("The Walking Dead", "Shawshank Redemption") has been involved in writing the screenplay. "Godzilla" opens on May 16, 2014. In 3D.
  
  
• And, of course, when Hollywood is not rebooting movies, they're making sequels. Such is the case with "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters", the campy B-flick starring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton. It may have underwhelmed critics, but box-office returns have been more than generous ($205 million worldwide against a budget of $50 million). So, in a completely unsurprising move, Paramount Pictures has announced that they have approved the sequel. It is unknown if Tommy Wirkola will return to direct, nor if Renner and Arterton will reprise their roles. All we have for now, is a green light.
  
  
• And when Hollywood isn't rebooting or making sequels to already profitable franchises, they're remaking classic properties. "The Count of Monte Cristo" will be the target of a remake this time. They use the word "remake", but it actually sounds like a new adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' novel, since they haven't actually named the movie they're remaking. David S. Goyer ("The Dark Knight", "Man of Steel") will direct the film from a script written by Michael Robert Johnson ("Sherlock Holmes"). Rumors state that it will be a "19th Century Dark Knight" (again with the Dark Knight) that will have a "graphic novel" feel to it. I have a feeling this will not be one for fans of Dumas' book.
  
  

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