Three movie remakes Hollywood shouldn’t bother making

Many voices have complained in the past – and will likely keep complaining in the future – about how Hollywood seems to make nothing but sequels and remakes lately. On one hand, it’s a smart decision to rely on a tried-and-tested formula (or characters and stories) to attract viewers to the movies. On the other hand, though, these remakes and reboots often come too soon after their predecessors (and this often doesn’t end well – just take a look at the dismal results of this year’s The Mummy) or try to improve on movies so great that any attempt to do so is destined to fail from the first moment. And this is the case of the movies below, set to be released in the coming year.

Highlander

An article about an upcoming game based on 1986’s Highlander has emerged in the news, showing that people still remember very well the adventures of Connor MacLeod from the clan MacLeod very well. The original movie was not a resounding success, failing to make enough money to cover its budget at the time of its first release, but in time it has acquired a cult status, spawning several sequels, live-action and animated series, along with numerous comic books and novels.

Now Summit and Lionsgate, the studios owning the franchise, are planning to reboot the series. John Wick helmer Chad Stahelski is attached to develop and direct the upcoming movie that is said to perhaps even spawn a trilogy. But will it have the power to match the magic and musical excellence of the original – or will there be only one?

The Crow

1994’s The Crow was one of the darkest movies released in the year especially because it came at a great cost to the world of film: its star Brandon Lee lost his life during the filming of a scene. The story it tells is one of love, revenge, and the unquiet dead, put on film with enough mastery to make it a lasting masterpiece remembered to this day, and it is not only a deep and emotional dark fantasy movie but also the late Brandon Lee’s legacy. The movie had several sequels but none of them managed to fill the original’s shoes.

Now Sony, who ended up owning the Crow franchise after Relativity Media’s bankruptcy, is planning to reboot the movie with Corin Hardy (The Hallow) attached to direct and Jason Momoa taking on the title role. All this to the great disappointment of the fans of the original, and despite director Alex Proyas’s pleads not to do so.

Any John Carpenter classic

While constantly balancing on the edge of making B movies, John Carpenter is responsible for some of the most horrifying and most entertaining flicks of the 1980s. Just think of titles like Halloween, The Thing, Christine, Starman, They Live, Big Trouble in Little China, and Escape from New York. Now several of his films are being remade – but will they live up to the originals without the guiding hands of the thrill master himself? Maybe not.

Out of his impressive filmography, studios have picked Escape from New York and Big Trouble in Little China to be remade, shattering many moviegoers’ childhood memories. Perhaps they shouldn’t – just think of the fate of 2005’s Assault on Precinct 13.

The editorial unit