Boot that reboot.

[rogueslayer452]

Taken from this meme:

What show or movie would you like rebooted? Same premise and storylines, but all new actors, showrunners, writers, technology, and social awareness?

Nothing. Honestly nothing.

And even if there was something in mind, I think most are in agreement of being absolutely tired and burnt out of living in this era of nostalgia via reboots/remakes. Yes, there may be some good ones out there, but those are few and far between and the market is already so overly saturated by them at this point that we really need to dial this reboot/remake phase of media back and allow new and original stories to be told. The only exception I will have to this, as I've seen others point out, are things like spin-offs where it's not so much of a reboot but more of a tie-in extension of the same universe where the focus are on entirely new characters and explore an entirely new and different story that isn't repeating the same thing as the original.

--

In addition to that, I also think there needs to be a pause on mega franchises. This isn't so much about franchises in general, which I have no problem with, but more of the current trend of having five (or more) movies planned while trying to hype it up as the next big blockbuster hit franchise, all before the first one even makes its debut. It's unnecessarily presumptuous. Not everything needs to become a franchise. Not everything needs to become part of some Frankenstein'd multiverse. Unless it's an adaptation of an already established series where one is hopeful the first part is successful enough to continue adapting the rest, some stories are better off left as stand-alones.

Comments

[profiterole_reads]

All of this! You're stating common sense truths that somehow seem to escape the minds of Hollywood producers.

[rogueslayer452]

Like, I understand it's their twisted logic of corporate greed, they care little about the product and more about the money. It's always been this way with the industry, but I think we've been entering really difficult times over the course of the last couple of decades or so. Something has to be done about it, a shift, a change, from within.

[author_by_night]

The only exception I will have to this, as I've seen others point out, are things like spin-offs where it's not so much of a reboot but more of a tie-in extension of the same universe where the focus are on entirely new characters and explore an entirely new and different story that isn't repeating the same thing as the original.


Yeah, those are fun. Also, while I've never personally seen it, I understand Stranger Things is very much its own story, BUT largely drawn from movies like The Goonies. (Though it's way darker than The Goonies ever was.)

I also agree with you on franchises. What happened to one-time wonders? I guess even 20 years ago, you had unnecessary sequels, but now it's off the rails.

[rogueslayer452]

I also agree with you on franchises. What happened to one-time wonders? I guess even 20 years ago, you had unnecessary sequels, but now it's off the rails.

I feel like everything wants to be the MCU now, where it's not just a massive franchise but also interconnected as a cinematic universe as well. Sadly, these trends happen once something ends up becoming a success, and many things end up doing it so poorly and kind of forgetting what made it work initially and only doing it for that quick cash grab.

[goodbyebird]

Hah I was JUST reading a piece on the Barbie movie and Mattel's future IP plans and KENOUGH ALREADY.

During the pandemic, multiplexes collapsed. The future of moviegoing now seems increasingly tenuous, and studios have leaned on pre-awareness as a means of drawing people to theatres: a nostalgia play like “Hot Wheels” is seen as a safer bet than an original concept. The box office has borne this out: the ten highest-grossing films of 2022 were all reboots or sequels. Disney’s much derided strategy of remaking “Aladdin” and other animated classics as live-action spectacles has largely paid off; by contrast, Pixar’s recent attempt at an original story, “Elemental,” bombed. On an earnings call last November, David Zaslav, the head of Warner Bros. Discovery, emphasized that “a real focus” of his was to revive the conglomerate’s most popular franchises. “We haven’t done a Harry Potter movie in fifteen years,” he said. (In fact, there have been six.) The mandate for audience recognition has pushed artists to take increasingly desperate measures—including scrounging up plotlines from popular snacks. Eva Longoria recently directed the Cheetos dramedy “Flamin’ Hot”; Jerry Seinfeld is at work on “Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story.”

It's giving me brain disease just to read. Worse than last year when Everything Everywhere All At Once made these idiots go "see? They LOVE multi-verse stuff!!" 🙃

I do not love this corporate future. I do not love it very much.

[rogueslayer452]

It's unsurprising when it comes to the whole Mattel nonsense, I sort of predicted that would be the case because they've been promoting and hyping up the Barbie movie so much so the news wasn't unexpected once it was announced, and yet I cannot help but want to headdesk repeatedly because it's so....bloated, and missing the entire point.

I do not love this corporate future. I do not love it very much.

Same. I mean, I'll ignore it as I have always done with these things, but it's still very, very depressing nonetheless and I am not happy with what the outcome may look like in the future for movies and media in general. With the WGA still on strike and SAG-AFTRA preparing to go on strike soon, it doesn't bode well.

[sherrilina]

Does it count as a reboot if I just want someone to do a proper adaptation of Vampire Academy that lasts more than one season, lol? Since the latest effort sadly failed.

[rogueslayer452]

I would say that, in that case, it'd be more of just another adaptation than a reboot, since it would just be another take on the original material than rebooting from something that failed, if that makes sense.

[rhoda_rants]

Absolutely agreed on both points, both saying no to reboots and to huge franchises. There are just too many of them. One of the best movies I saw in theaters this year was Renfield, which is technically another adaptation of Dracula, but it's a one-off movie, with an original idea, and was a splattery, hilarious mess. It was so great, and almost no one was in the theater with us.

The other thing they need to stop doing is making new streaming shows that get good reviews/a decent fan following only to kill them off after one, maybe two seasons, if they don't get a certain amount of views in like 48 hours or whatever that arbitrary cutoff point is. It makes me reluctant to even invest in new material.

[rogueslayer452]

The other thing they need to stop doing is making new streaming shows that get good reviews/a decent fan following only to kill them off after one, maybe two seasons, if they don't get a certain amount of views in like 48 hours or whatever that arbitrary cutoff point is. It makes me reluctant to even invest in new material.

Never mind ending up taking them off the streaming service altogether, with no way of ever getting to see those shows ever again, even shows that had just premiered/streamed not too long ago, all because the service doesn't want to pay residuals. That has become all too common recently and it's quite concerning, not to mention infuriating. This is why I'm heavily adamant about things being released on DVD/Bluray, physical media that you own so you can rewatch it as many times as you want and don't have to worry about when it disappears from a service that you're paying way too much money for anyway.

[rhoda_rants]

Seriously!! I've seen a few come out on DVD--it seems to depend on the platform, and on how popular the thing is. Hulu, Shudder, Prime, and occasionally Netflix will release their exclusive shows on DVD, but not Disney. I am committed to having a curated physical collection.

[silverusagi]

I saw the comment from someone that they wish studios would reboot scifi/fantasy shows that never took off, or only had a season, and take another shot at them with the advanced special effects we have today. But of course studios aren't going to do that, because those things don't have huge name brand recognition.

[rogueslayer452]

Genre fiction tend to be quite niche in general so they're often overlooked and shafted, unfortunately. TPTB will never take that risk on those unless, as you said, the IP is big enough to guarantee them making money.

[elizalavelle]

Agreed. I'd rather see something new that hits nostalgic notes (see Stranger Things) than see something I already enjoy get remade.

If it's going to be a reboot I'd want it to be with purpose. Like BSG had a complete shift in tone and it feels like that reboot had the plan to be a whole new show. They had the framework to work with but did bring in a lot of original plot.

[rogueslayer452]

BSG is the first that comes to mind of a very successful reboot, because it's more of a re-imagining where it essentially takes the basic premise and reworked it to become its own thing while still paying homage to the original series in little ways. Also, it had something to say. There was purpose in what they were doing with the characters and the story. Plus, the series is still relevant to this day, with the topics and subject matter they touch on. It's just so good, so frakking good.

[elizalavelle]

I think I wouldn't mind reboots that have something to say. I don't want reboots that just rehash the story we already had - especially if they're rebooting something that had a lot of seasons or was a success... at that point just make something new.

Studios seem to all be run by people who want the same things over and over though and originality isn't often supported.

[pianogurl330]

I agree with you about reboots and mega franchises. It's just too much!

[rogueslayer452]

It's just an overabundance at this point. Granted, the WGA/SAG strike is going to put a lot of that on halt for the time being, but even with the things that were previously announced it just feels like it's too much. Enough is enough, Hollywood.

[violateraindrop]

A couple of years ago that question would have been interesting. Now there are reboot everywhere...that I don't watch.

I love the MCU and I love Star Wars, but I absolutely agree! There is so much of of this already planned out that I can't be excited about any of it.

[rogueslayer452]

Yeah, it would've been an interesting thing to ponder years ago, but now I don't want to even consider putting a possibility into the universe of a reboot of something because chances are it either has already been in consideration or might become one, and it will most likely not be any good.

There's so many shows and movies planned for these universes that it's like, enough is enough already.