Say it isn’t so! J.J. Abrams directed ‘Mission: Impossible III’ a film in a franchise loosely based on a TV show from the 1960s (and continues to executive produce the franchise), before going on to strike gold with big screen reboots/sequels for ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Star Wars’. Most recently, he’s serving as executive producer for HBO’s buzziest show, ‘Westworld’, another project based on a property from the past, a 1973 film.
But no more. Abrams has had his fill with reinventing past properties for modern audiences. He’s more interested in creating new work, that hopefully someone years down the line will remake for an even newer audience.
After the Golden Globe awards, he revealed:
“You know, I feel incredibly lucky to have gotten involved in things that I loved when I was a kid. In fact, even Westworld, which we’re here for tonight, is one of them. But I don’t feel any desire to do that again. I feel like I’ve done enough of that that I’m more excited about working on things that are original ideas that perhaps one day someone else will have to reboot.”
Abrams has been on quite a role with his reboots and sequels, so he knows how to do one right. He cautioned against simply remaking something the way it was before. (Something Hollywood might want to pay attention to before we get another ‘Footloose’ or *shudder* ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’.
“You know, I do think that if you’re telling a story that is not moving anything forward, not introducing anything that’s relevant, that’s not creating a new mythology or an extension of it, then a complete remake of something feels like a mistake.”
“But film is a fairly young medium and there are stories that have lasted for centuries. And it’s not uncommon, I think, for stories to be retold — whether it’s at campfire or on film, but I think you always have to be additive. You can’t just be remaking something just for the sake of remaking it.”
Pretty sage words, if you ask me. Keep in mind, Abrams hasn’t only been involved with sequels. He had produced many TV series from ‘Felicity’ to ‘Alias’, ‘Lost’, ‘Revolution’, ‘Fringe’, ‘Almost Human’ and ‘Person of Interest’, just to name a few, plus movies like ‘Super 8’ and the two ‘Cloverfield’ films.
Are there any of Abrams’ original properties that you think might make for a good reboot at some point?
Are you sad that Abrams doesn’t want to take on any more reboots?
Source: People
