The 80s Called. They Want Their Movies Back.

OMG, just how many 1980s movies are getting a sequel or remake? It seem like every other day I learn about another. Let’s go down the list.

Time Bandits (TV Series)

Release Date: July 24, 2024 (10 episodes)

This I have to see. Taika Waititi is directing and Lisa Kudrow plays Penelope.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

Release Date: July 3rd (Netflix)

They really brought back the gang: we have Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Bronson Pinchot, and Paul Reiser back from the originals, plus Kevin Bacon  and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as new characters.

Will I watch it? Of course.

Will it be any good? Doubtful.

Do I care? Not so much.

It’s a good occasion to rewatch the original.

The Crow

Release Date: August 23rd, 2024

Just remaster the original and release that. There’s no way they do better.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Bill Skarsgård is a fabulous actor, but these are some big shows to fill. The loss of Brandon Lee during production of The Crow 1994 was a tremendous loss. He was destined to become a Hollywood A-lister. Who knows how dramatically movies would have been reshaped had he been around.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Release Date: September 6th, 2024

The Naked Gun

Release Date: July 18, 2025

This movie has quite the cast: Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr., Kevin Durand, Pamela Anderson, Danny Huston, Busta Rhymes, Paul Walter Hauser, et al. I’m really looking forward to seeing Liam in a comedic role.

Masters of the Universe

Release Date: June 5th, 2026

This is one of the few animated movies on the list.

Highlander (Reboot)

Release Date: TBD, expected in 2026

What we do know is that Henry Cavill plays the lead role. Whether that character is Connor MacLeod of the clan MacLeod or some other is still under wraps. Chad Stahelski is directing. Stahelski directed all of the John Wick movies, so John Wick with swords? Sign me up!

By the way, if they don’t at least use remixes of the original soundtrack by Queen then heads will roll!

Flight of the Navigator

Release Date: TBD

All that is known is that Bryce Dallas Howard is directing, and maybe there’s a gender swap for the main character, David. There have been previous attempts to bring this movie back, so don’t hold your breath.

Big Trouble in Little China

Release Date: TBD (in production)

The only thing really known at this time is Dwayne Johnson is set to play the lead role and we have two writers back from the original. This is one of those movies that I really loved back in the 1980s. Even back then it flew under the radar. There’s on chance of that happening again with Dwayne Johnson staring in it. I don’t know if it will be any good, but it won’t go unnoticed.

The Roses

Release Date: TDB (pre-production)

I think this is a remake of the original War of the Roses, which was a fabulously funny movie. (I’ll just be in here pissing on the fish.) Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman are cast in the lead roles.

Short Circuit

Release Date: TBD

There was a flurry of news about this back in 2020 and pretty much crickets since then. So maybe? All that is really know, or perhaps more accurately, all that is suspected is that the cast will have a Latinx bend.

An American Werewolf in London

Release Date: TBD

There hasn’t been much news on this recently, however, IMDb does currently list this movie as in development. The only solid news I found is that Max Landis is directing, the son  of John Landis, who directed the original. It’s not often that a son gets to remake his father’s movie. There could be some interesting behind-the-scenes conversation.

Guns 3: Dead or Alive

Release Date: TBD

There’s not much known other than Emilio Esteves is writing and directing and we have Christian Slater and Lou Diamond Phillips in the cast. The latest news I could find was an interview in 2023 with Lou Diamond Phillips who said the project is in limbo but not dead.

WarGames

Release Date: TBD

It has an IMDb page, but there’s no writer, producer, or director. I think this is something that could be problematic to make because of the rapid developments in AI. They may build a fictional AI for the movie that by the time the movie is released there’s an online AI that is better and for free.