Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You remains one of the key definitions of a “star is born” performance. Tall, handsome, with blush-worthy levels of camera-ready magnetism, Ledger sauntered into the pop-culture consciousness in 1999 as a chain-smoking (rumoured) bad boy teen paid to take an arty cool girl (the similarly luminous Julia Stiles) to prom. Allowed to retain his Aussie accent, Ledger is ludicrously charismatic in the film, all lackadaisical flirtation and alluring ambivalence. Can you even imagine 10 Things… without him? Well, imagine no more: a Heath-less reboot is in development. Is nothing sacred etc...?
Despite celebrity deaths typically halting unasked-for revivals in their tracks (remember how close we got to a second Mrs Doubtfire in the months before Robin Williams’s death in 2014?), a trilogy of sequels to 10 Things I Hate About You is coming down the pipe. The original film’s director Gil Junger has confirmed that each new movie will explore different stages of adult life, which will be reflected in their respective titles: 10 Things I Hate About Dating; 10 Things I Hate About Marriage; and 10 Things I Hate About Kids. How do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways.
