Movie Series to Resurrect

Barry Nelson

Saw this article on MSN and thought it might generate some discussion, especially the Superman idea which I am sure our comic friends can discuss. Personally I wouldn't revive any of the film series mentioned in this article with the exception of Terminator, which I believe has one more movie in it. Dirty Harry without Eastwood, Mad MAx without Gibson, etc just doesn't work. Would like to see a fourth Pirates movie though.

http://movies.msn.com/movies/moviesfeature/dvd/franchise-resurrection/?GT1=28002

Dan Same

Without disucssing the article specificially (much of which I disagree with ), I will say that I think that series which rely upon particular actors (such as Dirty Harry with Clint and Beverly Hills Cop with Eddie Murphy) should not go ahead unless the actor in question is up for it. If Clint does not want to do another Dirty Harry film (which is fine with me considering that the series IMO is pretty much perfect the way it is) and if Murphy does not want to do another Beverly Hills Cop film, then it should be left at that. The same goes for Mel Gibson with Lethal Weapon and Mad Max, Bruce Willis with Die Hard and Alien with Sigourney Weaver. Terminator is unique IMO as, shown by the show, it can work without Arnie. Like Barry, I also think that Terminator has one, possibly more than one, film left in it; that is to depict the actual war.

I love all the series mentioned above, but other than Terminator (which does have a new addition with Christian Bale) I would greatly appreciate another Beverly Hills Cop film, not because I didn't like the third one (I did), but because I think that Murphy's career is becoming too family oriented.

Oh, and I would be delighted if a new RoboCop was made. I revere the original, I absolutely adore it , but I detested the second film (see my post in the 'worst films ever' thread) and I was disappointed with the third. No new RoboCop film could ever hope to equal the original, but at least it will ensure that the second and third films (particularly the second) will be erased from history.

TonyDP

A revival of Superman is all but a foregone conclusion; all that is standing in the way right now is a creative decision by WB on how the story should go and who will helm the feature. Discussions are ongoing and I have a feeling we'll have something definite well before the end of the year.

As for Mad Max, I think Mel Gibson still has one more movie left in him. The nice thing about that character was the we already saw him age thru the first three films and much like Indiana Jones, I could still see a 50-something Gibson give us one last hurrah as the warrior from the wasteland. Besides, the films were always more about spectacular car chases than hand to hand combat. Mel hasn't had much to crow about since that drunken meltdown from a while back. Now would be the perfect time to entice him for one more go as Mad Max. I'm also a little confused as to why Miller would have wanted to film it in Africa as I thought the Australian settings fit the first three films perfectly.

I'd like to see the Alien franchise revived, and done properly with a good filmmaker and a solid cast - not the low budget take the money and run affairs that the last few films were. Lets have a movie with a new protagonist where we finally see the Alien homeworld.

Likewise, I'd like to see another Predator movie where we get back to basics: a Predator stalking a suitably formadable team of humans in some suitably exotic location (maybe Egypt) culminating in a memorable showdown between man and alien. Forget about combining it with the Alien films and ditch the unlikely pyramids in the arctic circle. Just revisit the original and take from that what worked best - the back and forth of the hunt.

Dan Same

TonyDP wrote:

I'd like to see the Alien franchise revived...Lets have a movie with a new protagonist where we finally see the Alien homeworld.

No Sigourney?

TonyDP wrote:

Likewise, I'd like to see another Predator movie where we get back to basics: a Predator stalking a suitably formadable team of humans in some suitably exotic location (maybe Egypt) culminating in a memorable showdown between man and alien. Forget about combining it with the Alien films and ditch the unlikely pyramids in the arctic circle. Just revisit the original and take from that what worked best - the back and forth of the hunt.

I completely agree. It needs to go back to the idea of the hunt, and as you said, it needs to be done in an exotic location (unlike in an urban setting as in the horrible second film).

After the masterpiece that was the original, the second film was an absolute travesty and is among my absolute least-favourite films. Like with a new RoboCop, a new film could go some way to erasing the second Predator from history.

Sweepy the Cat

I know it's only been a year since Spidey 3 but Spidey 4 has been announced for 2011, do you see a pattern?

2002
2004
2007
2011

I hope this is the fourth and final and will star 'Tobey Maguire' again

darenhat

I have to admit the 'The Goonies' is a guilty pleasure of mine. The concept of a 'Goonies: The Next Generation' is interesting in a quirky way.

Loeffelholz

This wasn't a film series...but it is one of the three or four TV series not yet brought to the big screen: "It Takes A Thief," B-) starring Robert Wagner as Alexader Mundy.

This could be a great film franchise, with the proper young lead.

I can't think of any film franchise, currently in limbo, that ought to be brought back.

Sweepy the Cat

Nah, leave the original untouched (As they say) the mistake of sequals can be fatal. Especially after over 20 years (Look at the new Indy, ok so technically it's 19 years on but you get the picture)

TonyDP

Dan Same wrote:

TonyDP wrote:

I'd like to see the Alien franchise revived...Lets have a movie with a new protagonist where we finally see the Alien homeworld.

No Sigourney?

The series was called Alien, not Ripley. :v Seriously though, I think Sigourney Weaver is a bit long in the tooth for the series now, and she really derailed the storylines with Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection.

For me, the appeal of the films was always the Alien and for all we've seen, its backstory has never really been explored. The original script for the first movie had a lot background info on the Alien, maybe they could go back to that and recycle some of that material for a new movie.

Loeffelholz wrote:

This wasn't a film series...but it is one of the three or four TV series not yet brought to the big screen: "It Takes A Thief," B-) starring Robert Wagner as Alexader Mundy.

This could be a great film franchise, with the proper young lead.

Actually, I've read that Will Smith is turning this into his next summer blockbuster vehicle. I loved the old show and Robert Wagner and Malachi Throne were a great team, but I'm a little concerned about Smith putting his stamp on this, it could very easily turn into another Wild Wild West (which could have been a great series of movies itself if they'd gone with a better story and some less recognizable actors).

Loeffelholz

TonyDP wrote:

Loeffelholz wrote:

This wasn't a film series...but it is one of the three or four TV series not yet brought to the big screen: "It Takes A Thief," B-) starring Robert Wagner as Alexader Mundy.

This could be a great film franchise, with the proper young lead.

Actually, I've read that Will Smith is turning this into his next summer blockbuster vehicle. I loved the old show and Robert Wagner and Malachi Throne were a great team, but I'm a little concerned about Smith putting his stamp on this, it could very easily turn into another Wild Wild West (which could have been a great series of movies itself if they'd gone with a better story and some less recognizable actors).

That's interesting---I hadn't heard that.

I'm a big Will Smith fan...but IMRO he had no business playing Jim West...I agree that Wild Wild West could have been great, but a bad script (and wrongheaded casting of the lead) doomed it out of the gate. Kevin Kline was just fine as Artemis Gordon, I actually enjoyed Kenneth Branaugh's scene chewing performance as the baddie---and I'd even give the giant mechanical spider a marginal pass, given the subject matter...but Will Smith as one of the country's charter Secret Service agents in the 1800s---even in such an earnestly silly escapist milieu---was too much; a distraction that added to the film's problems.

That said, if the script is sound, I think he can be a very effective Alexander Mundy. With the right older actor as Noah, Smith could well have a franchise that he can ride for a trilogy's-worth. I'll look forward to that one with a fair amount of anticipation.

Moonraker 5

Ghostbusters, anybody?

Well, it's apparently happening anyway...


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7599824.stm

Barry Nelson

Certainly not a series I was looking to be resurrected. At times Hollywood seems bankrupt of original ideas, just remakes of old movies, television shows and franchise films. They need some new ideas, maybe one of Loeffs ideas.

PPK 7.65mm

I agree with Moonraker 5 that a third Ghostbusters movie would fun. In fact I heard that Bill Murray read the script for the proposed third movie and just needs to say yes and the filming can start. If he chooses to pass that is okay by me as I already treat the video game from 2009 as like a third chapter in that franchise.

As for Robocop I would rather not see it remade, however it looks like MGM is going ahead according to this article.http://www.mi6.co.uk/news/index.php?itemid=9275&t=mi6&s=news. Personally I like the original movie as it is and find its social commentary to be as relevant in the present as it was in 1987. It is comforting to know that one of the orginal producers is involved, and hopefully the remake will avoid all of the mistakes that plague most movies made today (Shaky cam, fast editing, over usage of CGI Effects, bad casting).

PPK 7.65mm

Sweepy, I heard that the Spider-Man reboot is rapidly progressing nicely. Granted I have heard both good and bad things about the production so far, though I am reserving my judgment until I see a trailer. The pictures shown so far look promising, in fact the costume for Spidey this time around is significantly different that the one sported in the first three movies.

DaltonFan1

I think Dirty Harry, Mad Max, Nightmare on Elm Street and Lethal Weapon have to be left alone as they are defined by their stars(the actor as well as the character), who can never be the same again, ie they're too old to play the same role and another actor should not try to copy someone else's character when they can create a new one.

Robocop has already been rebooted unsuccessfully with four cheap and dull tv-type films with names like Prime Directives and Resurrection.
I thought the original trilogy were all pretty good, although the third is almost ruined by Peter Weller being replaced by Robert Burke. The producers thought they could hide this by having Robocop keep his mask on, but I found Weller's performance one of the best things about the first two films.

I believe a fourth Beverley Hills Cop film is in pre-production unfortunately, given the first three weren't very good and eddie murphy has long lost any acting talent he may have had.

I think the Austin Powers idea has been completely exhausted and another film would rival the Wayans brothers' horrendous spoof attempts.

I am in favour of continuing the Terminator series until the story is actually concluded, which hopefully can be done with one more film, that could star the now former California Governator as either a villain, hero or possibly both.

DangerMouse

With Hammer Horror releasing films again with their take on "The Woman In Black", I would like to see them resurrect their Frankenstein and Dracula series a few years from now.