Last September we learned that Jason Bateman, then-fresh off his Emmy win for Ozark, was in talks to direct and star in Ryan Reynolds’ remake of Clue for 20th Century (née Fox, may it rest in peace). According to the latest update from Variety, Bateman’s commitments to the Netflix drama have taken him off the project, with James Bobin—director of The Muppets and (extremely mumbling) Alice Through The Looking Glass—now in talks to replace him. Reynolds has been developing a new iteration of Clue since 2018, when he enlisted Deadpool screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick to tackle the remake.
Directed by Jonathan Lynn, the original 1985 film remains one of the greatest comedies of all time, thanks in no small part to a meta-textual finale involving multiple endings, guided breathlessly by the great Tim Curry. As with its predecessor, 20th Century hopes to assemble a star-studded ensemble to appear opposite Reynolds, who will also produce the film via his Maximum Effort banner. Given the depth of his involvement (along with a script from Reese and Wernick), it’s safe to assume this Clue will retain the adult humor of the 1985 film—if nothing else, a refreshing change of pace for studio movies based on kiddie properties.
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Having just watched it this past weekend, no. No reboot, remake, reimagining.This movie is a goddamn gem. If they do it will only cause…
I agree! There is no way a remake could be any better than the original. I would watch a sequel, or a prequel, or some version where you don’t remove the original. I love Ryan Reynolds but no one is going to beat that cast or that silliness without being silly vibe.
Reboot clue? Ooooh noooo!
Also surely Knives Out showed you can use roughly similar ideas without needing to reference the original intellectual property.I get that people can add to an idea and retelling stories is part of storytelling but something like Clue is mostly the actors, jokes and style – none of which they’ll be reusing.
The reboot thing seems to just curse the property. Sure, doing something similar to an existing property will invite comparisons regardless of the title. People said Knives Out was like Clue. However, when it was released and was completely it’s own thing (and brilliant) people stopped comparing it to Clue.Compare it to the new Suspiria. That film is just forever forced to be linked to another (more iconic) film. It’s really really quite different, if it had been Witches Keep You on your Toes! or suchlike there’d have been a few lines of reviews invoking Suspiria and that’s it. Instead, it’ll always be seen as slightly creatively lesser by many.I assume there’s got to be some box office trend that shows reboot perform better? But surely it can’t be that significant considering all the bombs.
On the one hand, it’s a nearly perfect movie.
On the other hand, it’s still a movie made from a board game, so it’s not like the original source material is sacrosanct or had fuck-all to do with what makes the movie great.
So yeah, fine, remake it a thousand times. There is no way any of them have a chance in hell of recreating the perfect chemistry with that writing and those comedic voices, but maybe they’ll stumble onto something else that’s good in a completely different way.
Hold up….does remaking the movie extinguish the original from existence?
I agree, remakes don’t devalue the original. Like a lot of people, I’m tired of Hollywood doing so.
Yeah, it definitely doesn’t call for a reboot/remake/reimagining (I mean, c’mon, you can’t do better than Madeline Kahn), but I’ll at least say that I enjoy Bobin’s movies. I thought The Muppets and Dora were really fun. Everyone in our family loved those.
That movie is indeed a gem! I rewatched it a few months ago and it totally holds up. Stellar cast, too.That singing telegram part still makes me laugh.
Yeah, there’s a couple awkward “gay panic” moments that definitely feel dated, but on the whole it is great. One of my favorite things about it is that there is a running joke that nobody knows how to go through doorways.
Singing telegram girl was one of the Go-Gos. Now her lips are sealed, forever!
She was also Joan of Arc in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Jane Wiedlin!
The reboot was just a red herring!
You go to the theater see the new opening credits and then it just plays the original Clue.
I’m imagining the opening scene is just Ryan Reynolds making microwave popcorn. We sit there for the whole three minutes as it pops. He dumps it into a bowl, turns to the camera and says, “Hey, want to watch a really good movie with me?” Then he sits down and we watch Clue.
That way, it can be billed as “Clue, with Ryan Reynolds” and be 100% accurate.
I would download that commentary track.
The original is by no means a great film but if you are ever laid out sick on the couch for a day it and “Murder By Death” make for perfectly amiable company.
“Room filled with empty people!”
Man who argue with cow on wall is like train without wheels – very soon get nowhere.
“Moose! Moose, you imbecile!”
Talk about a movie that doesn’t need a remake.Plus, we just had “Knives Out”, which was pretty close.
Imagine seeing Knives Out (a Clue remake done right) and thinking “there is definitely room in the world for a direct Clue remake.”
It would have to be a word for word remake of the original (ala Psycho) to make me wanna see this.You can’t top the perfection that is the original Clue movie. You just can’t. So don’t even bother.
Even that wouldn’t work. There’s nothing that makes “flames . . . flames on the side of my face” particularly funny except for Madeline Kahn’s absolutely perfect delivery, for example. The script IS funny but so much of what made it work was the timing and delivery from a very, very good cast.
This is what we call “overkill”.
The Muppets Play Clue is a movie I’d check out. I know that’s not what this is, just throwing it out there.
“Jack, it’s your turn.”“Jack not name! Jack Job!”
I regret that only have one star to give for your post.
“Scooter, it’s your turn.”“OK. Uh… Kermit, give me all your fours.”“That’s not Clue, that’s Go Fish.”Lew Zealand: “Did someone say ‘throw fish?’” [throws a fish]
the original 1985 film remains one of the greatest comedies of all time{{Citation needed}}
I have been saying for years that we should have a new Clue remake about once every ten years. All new cast, all new writers, and same basic “strangers together in a mansion” setup. Let each remake play to the strengths of the actors and the time while still obviously set in the world of the board game.After four or so more remakes, you’d have one hell of a collection of movies that could act as a record of comedy styles, film trends, and a whole host of other things that would be fascinating as a historical document.
I’ve thought this can be remade, but the eye you’d need to thread the needle through there to make it as good as the original is… pretty small.Realistically, just have a bunch of really great theater/movie character actors like the original, possibly with a star or two, and add more diversity than the entirely white cast of last time and it can work. Especially if Ryan Reynolds is Mr. Boddy and killed horribly early, which seems like something he’d be fine with.Heck, even making it into a Rock / Kevin Hart vehicle plus a bunch of other fantastic character actors could probably still work — but I still think sticking more with the Lin-Manuel Mirandas, Zachary Quintos, etc. of the world vs. MOVIE STARS like Ryan Reynolds, etc. — is the way to go.
No.