If you were a fan of the original ‘Lost in Space’ it would be easy to agree that Dr. Smith was likely one of, if not the most iconic character on the series. Jonathan Harris brought to life someone that you just couldn’t get out of your mind watching the show, so fans have been wondering why the role has been gender-swapped to have Parker Posey playing the part instead.
The reasoning behind this is specifically because executive producers Kevin Burns and Jon Jashni were close friends with the late actor.
According to Burns:
“Jon [Jashni, EP] and I had wanted Dr. Smith to be a woman. Why? Because we were very close to Jonathan Harris. I knew him very well. I had him in my ear telling me ‘If they ain’t got me they got nothing. Kevin, I love you, but it will fail because I am Dr. Smith and nobody else can be Dr. Smith. That’s why that Gary Oldman movie died.’ So we said we won’t invite that comparison. What we’ll do is we will cast someone who will bring to it everything Jonathan brought to it but from a totally different perspective without having all of that baggage.”
While the new ‘Lost in Space’ might be targeting an entirely different audience, this change could be smart to include for any potential returning fans. It is hard to imagine a Dr. Smith that isn’t Jonathan Harris.
It will be hard to see how fans will react but the method worked great when swapping up Starbuck in ‘Battlestar Galactica’ and it’s hard to deny that the new trailers look intriguing.
Are you okay with a gender-swapped ‘Lost in Space’ or do you think roles should never get swapped around? Will this new take on the character help remove comparisons to Harris’s work? Share your thoughts below!
‘Lost in Space’ can be found on Netflix on April 13th, 2018!
Source: Cinema Blend
