With the recent announcement of HBO Max ordering a Harry Potter TV series and the release of The Little Mermaid, one can’t help but think about the current influx of remakes, reboots, and re-adaptations of older popular content.
The concept of remaking something is nothing new in the film and television industries. Films and television series are often remade with the intent of introducing a new generation to something that was once popular or to improve the overall quality of the previous iteration. A great example of this would be the 2021 remake of Dune. Based on the 1965 novel by Frank Hubert, Dune was originally adapted into a film in 1984 by David Lynch. The film was poorly received by critics and fans alike, claiming that the film’s screenplay was a “mess” and “incomprehensible”, with many going as far as to say that it was the worst movie of the year.
The 2021 remake of the Dune film, however, was met with widespread acclaim. Although there were still many issues critics found with the film, it was undeniably a success, solidifying the film in pop culture and successfully reintroducing a new generation to the Dune world. In this case, a remake of the film makes sense. The original film performed poorly and the remake was released 30-plus years after the original, thus the making of the remake could be seen as appropriate and logical.
Recently, however, we’ve seen remakes and reboots of films and TV series that aren’t even that old yet nor have they been out long enough to be forgotten about. Take HBO’s Gossip Girl reboot, for example. The show was recently cancelled due to low ratings. The idea of a Gossip Girl reboot was relatively absurd as the show only ended in 2012, while the reboot was released in 2021.
The show wasn’t even 10 years old by the time of the reboots of release. Furthermore, making a Gossip Girl remake doesn’t make any sense as the show is inevitably a product of its time and its overall appeal no longer meets today’s TV watchers’ standards. The Gossip Girl reboot therefore seemed like nothing more but a mere cash grab.
The incessant amount of remakes, reboots and re-adaptations being released creates a dull image for the future of film and television. A remake can be a good thing but the rate at which many of these remakes are being pumped out leaves little to be desired.
Movies that haven’t been out for more than 10 years, such as Moana, are reportedly receiving remakes. Please, Hollywood, enough is enough! Stop with these remakes!
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