If any studio has any doubt about what to do with something gathering dust in the corner, here’s the answer – Reboot. The news that Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi were gone from Spider-Man 4 was swiftly followed by news of the webby one’s reboot. And that was just the beginning.
While one can simply shrug and go hmm at news that Superman will get a revamp – again – (under the guidance of Christopher Nolan), it’s a little harder to hide one’s gut reaction at the news that other rebooties include Daredevil (good heavens, wasn’t one more than enough?), Mr and Mrs Smith and National Lampoon’s Vacation. Even star Ben Affleck didn’t like Daredevil – and I find that telling. Surely reason enough not to give it another bash.
And then there’s the Bourne Identity. A popular franchise so why not start from scratch and have a kiddie Bourne playing hide and seek in the classroom for the prequel? Robocop – that’s another one they’re threatening us with. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Three Musketteers and The Thing all get another chance to thrill, and in the case of the last one, that might be a good thing. The Planet of the Apes is another possible, making that a Rebooted Reboot. And Judge Dredd??
Of course, one ace up the sleeve in this round of reboots is the 3D card. Maybe Mission Impossible 4 will be more pertinent if shot in 3D. And what about a new 3D 3D Jaws? Obviously Simon Corkindale would be much missed but he was consumed whole so it would be more difficult to reboot a character that had been eaten.
All this begs a question – Why does everything good (and not so good, or even bad) need a remake as we grow older?
