Hypothetical: What franchise would you like to reboot?

Artman009

Artman009

Active member
Let's say you were given the reigns to write the reboot of any franchise (new or old) that you wanted. You'd have complete and total control over what to keep and what to loose. Which franchise would you choose and how would you do it differently and/or better?

I ask because a friend of mine recently presented me with the same question and it really sort of stumped me. (I'm still debating the answer myself...)

-- Artman009
 
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Star Wars. Still so much potential. And such great need for redemption.

And by "reboot", I mean doing sequels to the original trilogy, not re-doing any existing movie. That still counts as a reboot, doesn't it?
 
Gerry Anderson's UFO.

Although I think someone actually *is* rebooting that show.

Maybe - maybe - The Prisoner. Although somehow doing it without Patrick McGoohan seems kind of wrong.
 
Planet of the Apes -- in a similar method that the original uses, I'd start with some astronauts crashing and finding the remains of the Statue of Liberty all in the opening act of the film, and go from there without worrying about any kind of twist ending, instead focusing on making an epic science fiction adventure film.

Alien/Aliens -- in the late 80's Dark Horse comics did a really interesting series of sequels to Aiiens where the creatures spread across the Earth. Instead of focusing on Ripley, it took place once Newt was grown up, and had an older Hicks, acid scarred face and all. I'm not saying that I would exactly do an adaptation of these comics, but something similar where the aliens multiply and overrun the future Earth has tons of potential.

Aliens vs. Predator-- some may think I'm crazy, but I think that this could still someday be done properly and could stand proudly next to the best of both respective series' films (Alien, Aliens, and Predator). The problem seems to be how to handle the human/Predator relations. So far the films have tried the whole let's team up approach, and failed. I wonder if it would be better to have no humans in the story, focusing on the Predators as the heros? With some subtitles and clever visual storytelling tactics, character development for these extraterrestrial hunters might actually be possible. Also, it would be a great opportunity to go to the Predator homeworld and really get some details on their culture and why the hunting rituals are so important and a major part of their lives.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers -- I really didn't like The Invasion, which was a weak remake of the often revisited Body Snatchers tale (it's already been remade twice before). The Invasion did so many things wrong, first of which was shortening the classic title into a generic sounding one. It also did away with the pods, which makes no sense to do away with. So, instead of doing yet another feature film remake, I think it could make an interesting TV series. Maybe have a group on the run from the ever spreading wave of conformity brought about by the transformed pod people.

The Punisher -- was my favorite comic book character growing up, and really the only superhero type of comic that I followed faithfully. Why Hollywood can't seem to get this one right baffles me. I think that this one might also work better as a TV series.

Second Variety -- Philip K. Dick's classic short story Second Variety has already been adapted as the Peter Weller film Screamers. It is actually a pretty good lower budget sci-fi action film. The reason to adapt it would be that while good, Screamers kinda fudged the ending. Also, the visuals could be really amazing with today's visual effects technology. Plus, Second Variety is a much better title than Screamers in my opinion. The biggest hurdle would be that the story is very similar to The Terminator in its portrayal of a future war where deadly killing machines lurk the waste lands. Some have even speculated that James Cameron might have lifted some elements from Second Variety for The Terminator, or at least was inspired by the short story.

The Train -- is an awesome WWII action film from the 60's starring Burt Lancaster that should be remade, even if only to make people aware of the original.

Where Eagles Dare -- as with The Train, and excellent WWII adventure film that could be remade without "re-imagining" the original by changing much of anything besides a new coat of paint. Plus, this would just be a blast to make and watch. Maybe shoot in IMAX for some of the big set pieces.

Vampire Hunter D -- live action adaptation of the anime/books. If you've seen either of the two animes or read any of the original novels, you don't need any explanations or justifications for this one. Maybe with the current vampire craze it will get made in the coming years?
 
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Pick a comic flick, any comic flick. While some were actually pretty well done, none of them have really hit the mark. In fact, most of them make you wonder if they ever even read a comic. Yeah, I'm still talking about you Singer!
 
I agree with whoever earlier chose Star Wars. I had the toys and read Splinter in the Mind's Eye, and that's the extent of my Star Wars fandom. But I dearly loved the first three movies, which even at 40 cast a spell, and the degree to which Lucas failed that original trilogy with the new one is almost beyond measure. The original trilogy gave the outline to a truly classic character in Anakin Skywalker—a great warrior, born to be a hero, whose wounds real and psychic turn him against all that he's believed and into one of cinema's greatest villains. All the ingredients were right there, already spelled out. And Lucas chose to turn him into an angst-filled, wooden-mouthed teenager with a chip on his shoulder (and some of the silliest, cartoonish friends and effects this side of Howard the Duck). I never watched, and probably never will, the "final" Star Wars film, Episode 3, simply because it's a bridge too far: I just don't buy it, and it would pain me too much to watch it. I'm guessing it would be like a Christian having to watch Passion of the Christ starring Jim Carrey instead of Caviezel. So give me the reins, George. I'll fix it. (What I'd do just to get to cast it....)

Also, while it's not a franchise, I'd like to see someone re-cast Cast Away and not cut out the most interesting part of the story. (And no, Lost doesn't count.) We saw Hanks get to the island, learn a bit about how to survive—and then we cut to four years later and him getting off the island. You don't have to read Robinson Crusoe to know that the most interesting part of being stranded on a desert island is reconciling oneself to the idea of spending the rest of your life alone and cut off from all contact with your kind. Cast Away spent almost no time on that at all, and it shocked me.
 
RockmanX3 said:
Resident Evil because I hate what Paul W.S. Anderson has done to it.
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I am with you there. I hate, hate, HATE Paul W.S. Anderson. He's a British Uwe Boll as far as I am concerned. He was Michael Bay before Michael Bay was Michael Bay.

Awful, awful director.

-- Artman009
 
Joss Whedon's Firefly. I am not sure I could make it better than it was, but I love it so much that I'd want very much to create more of it.
 
Resident evil, making it a movie about the first game. Set in the creepy mansion.

And I actually agree about the alien vs predator movie, but you have to have humans. For me it would be awesome to just focus on the human story where they are just caught up in this frenetic fight between aliens and predators like in the game. And then learn about why the two aliens are fighting instead of being told from the first act
 
I thought long and hard and I think I've settled on the 'Star Wars' franchise like Eximious and texvanwinkle. Like Eximious said, it is definitely need of redemption.

I would do a total reboot and market it as more adult (just a hard PG-13, though) re-telling of Lucas story and mythology.

First, I wouldn't start the story with Anakin Skywalker and his fall from grace. That story was told too recently. I'd start with Luke on Tatooine and make him the primary focus throughout the saga. All of the pre-"New Hope" stuff, Vader's history, the rise of the Empire, the Clone Wars, etc, would all be just back story told only in passing and never shown.

Now, here are the controversial stuff I'd change/implement:

The Force
First, I'd make use of the Force something you can learn and not something you have to be born with. I know this might be sacrilegious but, to me, there's not as much journey there for a character if it's just something he's born now.

Now, don't get me wrong--it won't be s something you can learn in a two week seminar or anything but some would be able to learn it easier than others (Luke probably being a super rare case of really getting a lot of it at first). Watching "A New Hope" again not too long ago, I sort of suspect that is what Lucas was going for in the beginning before 'Empire' was seriously being consider.

The Skywalker Family
I'd definitely keep the revelation that Vader is/was Luke's father because not only is that scene so iconic but because it's a great turning point for the character. I would, however, throw out Leia being his sister. A romantic love triangle between Luke, Leia, and Han Solo is too good to pass up, in my opinion, and that reveal in "Return of the Jedi" always felt like an afterthought. I mean, why else would Lucas have had Luke and Leia kiss in 'Empire'?

The Droids
I'd keep R2-D2 and C-3PO around but I wouldn't follow them from a story standpoint as much as I would Luke because it really his story and journey.

Their dynamic would be the same (although less silly) but R2 would be the one who had escaped Vader's clutches with the Death Star plans and have C-3PO be a droid that Luke and his aunt and uncle already owned. Then, of course, you'd have him and R2 meet-up and become buddies, as in keeping with the droids having (limited) personalities.

The Death Star
There would be only one and I'd probably milk it and the inevitable the attack on it until the 2nd or 3rd movie in the trilogy (assuming I'd be writing the entire revamped trilogy). Always felt anti-climactic for them to bring up a 2nd one in 'Jedi'.

Han Solo - the tragic hero
Again, if I was doing the whole trilogy, I'd have it conclude with Han Solo bravely sacrificing himself to destroy either the Death Star or whatever dangerous weapon the Empire had against the rebels because, really, his arc as a character is journey from selfish stubborn pirate to lover to rebellion hero.

To me, I think if I wrote that right, it would be great, bittersweet way to conclude the trilogy.


Anyway... Thoughts? Agreements? Disagreements?

-- Artman009
 
Finnegan said:
Joss Whedon's Firefly. I am not sure I could make it better than it was, but I love it so much that I'd want very much to create more of it.
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Ha! You'd be eaten alive if Joss wasn't involved in the reboot. The Browncoats are one rapid fan base.

-- Artman009
 
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Tormod said:
Resident evil, making it a movie about the first game. Set in the creepy mansion.
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I completely agree with everyone on Resident Evil's unfortunate cinematic treatment. Those games were so amazing, pretty much the reason I bought a Playstation back in the day.

Speaking of videogame adaptations, I think Mortal Kombat has potential if done by the Hong Kong film industry. They could get a couple American or European actors for any parts requiring that type of ethnicity (Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, Kano), but otherwise use Asian actors that can do all the martial arts. The Wachowski brothers would also be a good choice as writers/directors for a Mortal Kombat reboot.

And I actually agree about the alien vs predator movie, but you have to have humans. For me it would be awesome to just focus on the human story where they are just caught up in this frenetic fight between aliens and predators like in the game. And then learn about why the two aliens are fighting instead of being told from the first act.
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Funny thing is, with the first Alien vs. Predator film, the most engaging part for me was the first act where they were traveling to the pyramid. Once the aliens hatched and the predators showed up, all the suspense was sucked out and it felt like one big action sequence without much to it besides, "hey, look at these great effects."
 
Firefly was perfect in about every way... of course, it could use a few more pretty girls in skimpy clothes. But, that's just me :) Instead of rebooting, I'd rather see Josh come back and continue it the way it was. The biggest downfall to that would be Book and... what's his name dying in Serenity. I feel really bad, because I just caught the last half of it this morning, and I can't remember the pilot's name...
 
That would be 'Wash'...

That would be 'Wash'...

Capt Quirk said:
Firefly was perfect in about every way... of course, it could use a few more pretty girls in skimpy clothes. But, that's just me :)
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Well, what wouldn't be better with that? :)

Capt Quirk said:
The biggest downfall to that would be Book and... what's his name dying in Serenity. I feel really bad, because I just caught the last half of it this morning, and I can't remember the pilot's name...
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That character would be 'Wash'.

-- Artman009
 
The only things I liked from Paul W.S. Anderson was the first Mortal Kombat and Event Horizon. I think after those, he purposefully decided to suck.

I was thinking of writing my own Resident Evil screenplay for the fun of it, just in case I ever get the rights which will probably never happen. But I would never do a video game adaption because I love video games that much to subject them to that kind of treatment.
 
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