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As much as people complain about Hollywood putting out the same things year after year, the fact remains that name recognition gets people into theater seats. Moreover, remakes and reboots give filmmakers an opportunity to retell beloved stories from a different perspectives. In this age of high-budgets and higher-expectations, reboots and remakes are among the only types of movies that major studios like to make these days.
So whether you’re feeling cynical about this year’s offerings or optimistic about the second swings filmmakers are taking, here are the biggest reboots and remakes coming in 2024.
Mean Girls (January 12)
Although the promotional materials tried to do their best to conceal it, the 2024 Mean Girls doesn’t so much adapt the beloved 2004 comedy, but rather the Broadway musical that followed. Which means that, yes, viewers will hear more songs than “Jingle Bell Rock.” Singer Reneé Rapp reprises her stage performance as lead Plastic Regina George, while Angourie Rice (Betty Brant of the MCU Spider-Man movies) plays outsider Cady Heron.
Although Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. directed this new version, it isn’t all new faces. Not only does the screenplay come from Tina Fey, who also appears once again as teacher Ms. Norbury, Tim Meadows also makes the jump to the new movie, back in the big chair as Principal Duvall. The adult cast also includes Jenna Fischer and Busy Phillips as Mrs. Heron and Mrs. George, respectively, and John Hamm as Coach Carr. You can read our review here.
Lisa Frankenstein (February 9)
The main appeal of Lisa Frankenstein does not come from yet another crack at Mary Shelley’s novel, not while people are still debating Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things. Rather, the excitement for Lisa Frankenstein comes from its writer Diablo Cody, the screenwriter behind Juno and Jennifer’s Body, and director Zelda Williams, daughter of the late legendary comedian Robin Williams.
Kathryn Newton, previously seen as Scott Lang’s daughter in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, stars as Lisa Swallows, a scientist who reanimates the handsome corpse she discovers, played by Cole Sprouse of Riverdale fame. While Williams is still a newcomer, Cody has made her name with movies about whip-smart characters who use sarcastic humor to protect themselves.
Road House (March 21)
No, we haven’t had a Patrick Swayze Christmas since the actor passed away in 2009, but we’re getting the next best thing this year with a remake of his 1989 classic Road House. The new movie comes from director Doug Liman, who made Edge of Tomorrow and The Bourne Identity but also Jumper and Chaos Walking.
Jake Gyllenhaal takes over for Swayze as Dalton, now a former UFC fighter who becomes the bouncer at a Florida nightclub. He’ll be joined by actual UFC fighter Conor McGregor and actual actor Daniela Melchior, best known for playing Ratcatcher II in The Suicide Squad. We don’t know much more about the movie yet, which might kneecap excitement over a film that comes out very soon. Fortunately, pain don’t hurt.
The Fall Guy (May 3)
If you’re reading this, you probably don’t recall The Fall Guy, the early ’80s TV show in which Lee Majors played a stuntman who also works as a bounty hunter. But you probably have heard of the people involved in the upcoming remake of the show, Deadpool 2 director David Leitch and Iron Man 3 co-writer Drew Pearce. As that lineup suggests, The Fall Guy will go for a mix of humor and action, especially with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt in the lead roles.
Despite the title’s long-passed sell-by date, The Fall Guy does seem like an ideal project for all involved. Hollywood stuntmen always make for interesting subject matter (see Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), and Leitch works best when he can combine his sometimes off sense of humor with spectacular action sequences. Placed early in the summer blockbuster schedule, The Fall Guy may be primed to win over audiences who couldn’t pick Lee Majors out of a lineup.
The Garfield Movie (May 24)
After turning in an acceptable, if unremarkable, performance in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Chris Pratt voices another character known for their love of Italian cuisine. Directed by animation veteran Mark Dindal, who oversaw the glorious mess that became The Emperor’s New Groove, The Garfield Movie delves into the backstory of the Sunday comics page fixture, reuniting him with his long-lost father Vic (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson). Other voice actors include Nicolaus Hoult as Jon Arbuckle and Harvey Guillén as Odie, who apparently says more than “arf” now.
Look, no one in 2024 should be surprised about a mediocre Garfield movie. Creator Jim Davis has always been open about commercial interests for the character, which is why his grumpy fat cat has been more or less unchanged for almost 46 years. Still, those jokes still work, even after all this time, which means Garfield will always have an audience among Monday-hating lasagna-lovers. And if that doesn’t get you in the door, then know that The Garfield Movie will feature a Ted Lasso reunion, with Hannah Waddingham and Brett Goldstein lending their voices. I hope he gets to do Nermal.
Speak No Evil (August 9)
Even those who loved the 2022 Danish horror film Speak No Evil had to admit that the premise rested on Scandinavian mores. Directed by Christian Tafdrup and co-written with Mads Tafdrup, Speak No Evil features a Danish family who meets a Dutch family on holiday. As the latter intrudes more and more on the former’s hospitality, the Danes play along, leading to a horrific climax.
Writer and director James Watkins, who made The Woman in Black, will attempt to reimagine Speak No Evil for American audiences. The Blumhouse production stars James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis as the host family and Scoot McNairy and Alix West Lefler as the intruders. While Watkins’s previous work has its charms, it’s hard to see how he’ll make Speak No Evil work for Americans, nor is it clear that Blumhouse will retain the original movie’s upsetting climax.
The Amateur (November 8)
You’d be forgiven for raising an eyebrow at The Amateur’s inclusion on this list. Director James Hawes seems like a fine director, given his work on Doctor Who, Black Mirror, and other genre shows and the film has a strong cast, with Rami Malik, new Lois Lane Rachel Brosnahan, Laurence Fishburne, and Holt McCallany. The spy thriller adapts a novel from writer Robert Littell, but that doesn’t count as a remake or a reboot, right?
No, it does not. But Littell’s novel came to the screen before, the same year it was released, in 1981. The Canadian movie The Amateur starred John Savage as CIA cryptographer Charles Heller and Charles Plummer as a senior agent. The original failed to make back its budget, and it’s hard to see how the film will work outside of its original Cold War setting. But spy movies always entertain, so here’s hoping Hawes and co. can pull it off.
Nosferatu (December 25)
Perhaps the most exciting entry on this list, Nosferatu comes from director Robert Eggers, the auteur behind The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Norseman. In each of those films, Eggers has shown a remarkable ability to explore unique cultures from the past and turn them into moving, surreal stories. In fact, some might argue that Eggers has it too easy with Nosferatu. An unauthorized adaptation of the Bram Stoker novel, the 1922 original Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror remains one of the most influential silent films ever made. Images of Max Shreck as the twisted Count Orlock have haunted viewers nightmares for over a century.
Eggers brings his vision to the screen with the help of Nicholas Hoult as Jonathan Harker stand-in Thomas Hutter, Lily-Rose Depp as his wife Ellen, and Willem Dafoe as the Van Helsing replacement Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz. But the real appeal comes in the form of Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok. In his still short career, Skarsgård has made a name for himself by playing creepy characters, most notably Pennywise the Clown in the most recent adaptation of It.
The post The Biggest Movie Reboots and Remakes Coming in 2024 appeared first on Den of Geek.
