There is no such thing as a new idea. Mark Twain made that observation, and who knew he would be anticipating Hollywood’s compulsion to reboot and spinoff and treat any stand-alone story as a launchpad for an entire universe of stories.
Everything old is new again. And again. And again.
Did you hear there’s a “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” spinoff in the works? An “Ally McBeal” sequel, too. Jake Gyllenhaal is set to star in a “Road House” remake and there’s a “Dirty Dancing” sequel on its way. A rebooted “Quantum Leap” premieres on NBC this fall. Disney+ is developing a live-action King Kong series, while Netflix has its own anime version on the way called “Skull Island.” Kenya Barris is tackling “The Wizard of Oz,” and that’s on top of another Oz movie that’s also in development. A reimagining of Clive Barker’s “Hellraiser” will premiere on Hulu, while Apple TV+ has a “Godzilla”-something coming. “Planet of the Apes” is being reborn as well — actually the most recent reporting I read referred to it as “the next series of ‘Planet of the Apes’ films.” Films, plural.
