107 movie remakes and reboots currently in the works

Latest update: The Crow loses its director, Jacob's Later presses ahead.

Over the years that Den Of Geek has been going, we've regularly been charting the assortment of reboots and remakes that are making their way through the Hollywood system. This, then, is the current state of play. We've removed a bunch of projects that seem utterly dead - the once mooted remakes of Videodrome and Timecrimes, for instance - but we'll keep this list up to date as and when we hear of more.

Without further ado, here's what's coming up...

Ace Ventura

Following in the muddy pawprints of Ace Ventura Jr and the animated 1990s TV show, another attempt to revive the Ace Ventura franchise without the involvement of Jim Carrey is underway. It's very early days, but Morgan Creek Productions are definitely looking into it. They're currently trying to sell a lot of their properties, but have held onto the remake rights for Ace Ventura, which they're working on relaunching, according to Deadline.

Akira

One of Hollywood's most on and off projects, the current state of the live action Akira remake is that it's back in the works. Marco J Ramirez, the showrunner for season 2 of Netflix's Daredevil show, has been hired to pen a screenplay. Warner Bros is still backing the film, which was previously abandoned over budget issues. Jaume Collet-Sera (Non-Stop), who had been set to direct, is believed to have moved on, though. Tantalisingly, we're told that Christopher Nolan has had talks about the project.

Alien Nation

A series of new Alien Nation movies is in the planning stages at 20th Century Fox. The original 1988 movie starred James Caan and Mandy Patinkin, and the remake has attracted the interest of Iron Man writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. They're working on a draft of a screenplay, and Fox apparently has a Planet Of The Apes-esque franchise revival in mind.

Early days on this one so far, though.

A Prophet

The acclaimed Jacques Audiard movie A Prophet is one of the best crime sagas to hit the big screen in the past ten years. If you've not seen it yet, then it's a hugely rewarding, if difficult to watch at times, piece of cinema.

Sony has now taken out an option for an English language remake, which Neal H Moritz and Toby Jaffe will be producing under the Original Film banner. Dennis Lehane was hired to write the screenplay at the end of 2013, and in January 2016 Sam Raimi was said to be circling the director's chair with intent.

The Batman

The big screen take on Batman is effectively being rebooted in 2016's Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, that'll see Ben Affleck step into the cape and cowl. Beyond that, though, a fresh trilogy of Batman movies is apparently being planned, and Affleck is reportedly in line to direct at least the first of them. Expect it in 2018 at the earliest. There's the small matter of the Justice League movies to fit in too, after all...

Beauty And The Beast

The first animated movie to receive a Best Picture Oscar nomination was Disney's classic telling of Beauty And The Beast. And in line with the studio's current policy, it's been working on a live action remake.

Bill Condon, who recently directed Mr Holmes and before that a couple of Twilight pictures, is in post-production on the movie. Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Josh Gad, Emma Thompson and Kevin Kline lead the cast. The film is set for release on March 17th 2017.

Ben-Hur

Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) is directing the new take on Ben-Hur, whose cast includes Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, Pedro Pascal, Morgan Freeman and Nazanin Boniadi. The film is already in post-production, and will be released in cinemas in March 2016.

Big Man Japan

The 2007 mockumentary comedy kaiju movie Big Man Japan is something of a treat, telling the story of an ordinary man who becomes an outcast, in no small part down to his talent for turning into a gigantic hero to save Japan from lots of monsters. The US remake has attracted Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay (Clash Of The Titans, R.I.P.D.) to write the script. There's been no formal greenlight yet, or announcement of a director. What's more, there's been no real update since 2013, so this one is sitting in limbo a little...

Big Trouble In Little China

One of the few John Carpenter movies to thus far escape the remake treatment? Well, that would have been Big Trouble In Little China, but over the summer, news broke that a remake was indeed in the works. Kurt Russell has given his blessing and wished the project good luck.

Dwayne Johnson is set to headline the film, which is being penned by Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz. Johnson has already said that he wants John Carpenter involved in the project in some capacity too. It's still in the writing stages thus far, and Johnson's jam-packed slate means that even if everything goes to plan, this one is unlikely to shoot until the back end of 2016 at the earliest.

The Birds

Yep, the Alfred Hitchcock classic. Mind you, following the shot-for-shot remake of Psycho, little should come as a shock. The new take on The Birds will be overseen by Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes company, and Bay himself is one of the listed producers. Furthermore, the film is set to be directed by Diederik Van Rooijen, who will be making his English language feature debut with the production.

The Black Hole

Oblivion and TRON: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski continues to develop a remake of The Black Hole. Prometheus' Jon Spaihts worked on a screenplay for the film, and Kosinski has revealed that he sees the film more as a reboot than a remake. It had taken a back seat so that Kosinski could make TRON 3, but Disney has since pulled the plug on that one. It's not entirely clear where The Black Hole sits on its docket right now.

Blade

According to the man himself, Wesley Snipes, Marvel Studios have held a few talks about rebooting Blade within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The conversations have "been good" according to Snipes, but we've heard little else. Perhaps, if not a movie, he could reprise his role on Netflix? We'll keep you updated.

The Blob

Con Air director Simon West is promising to harness the power and potential of modern CG in his new take on The Blob. Goldcrest Film is funding the project, and it seems fairly high up West's to-do list. A release in 2016 or 2017 may yet be possible...

Bloodsport

There's going to be no Jean-Claude Van Damme in the announced remake of Bloodsport that's currently in the works. Robert Mark Kamen, the co-writer of Taken 2, has been working on the script, and Phillip Noyce (Clear And Present Danger, Rabbit Proof Fence) had, at one stage, signed on to direct the movie. It's still in the works as we understand it, and the plan is, apparently, for a film that's more character driven than the original. Progress has been very slow on this one, though.

Blue Thunder

Sony is juggling a few remakes at the moment, and Blue Thunder is one of them. The new film will change Blue Thunder from a helicopter into a drone, and Craig Kyle is writing the script (he's also writing Thor: Ragnarok). Dana Brunetti, who oversaw Fifty Shades Of Grey's transition to the screen, is producing.

Cabin Fever

An unusual one, this. Eli Roth's 2002 feature, Cabin Fever, has been remade using exactly the same screenplay. It's the work of Travis Zeriwny, and he's finished shooting the new film, and put a cut together. Roth has revealed that Zawiwny has changed the deaths in the film a little, but other than that, it's very much the same story. Given that the movie is in post-production, it can't be long until we see it either...

Car Wash

Universal is working on a remake of Richard Pryor’s 1976 comedy Car Wash, which gave us that ridiculously catchy theme song as well as packing a few laughs. The studio is searching for a writer at the moment, so all we really know for the time being is that the new film will focus on – obviously – the employees of a car wash. 

Charlie's Angels

We haven't had a Charlie's Angels movie since 2003's Full Throttle. It's not that surprising, then, that a reboot is in the works. Sony is currently searching for a writer to bring the trio of female ass-kickers back the big screen. Elizabeth Banks - after her success directing Pitch Perfect 2 - is said to be circling this one.

Cliffhanger

Sylvester Stallone's then-floundering career received a major shot in the arm with 1993's Cliffhanger, where director Renny Harlin took him up some mountains and shot lots of film. Fun was had.

There had been talk for many years of a Cliffhanger sequel, The Dam, but that never panned out. Then, back in 2009 came talk of a reboot from producer Neal Moritz, who's overseen the new Total Recall and 21 Jump Street. And last year, Joe Gazzam was hired to pen a screenplay for a Cliffhanger remake/reboot. Nothing's been heard since, but we suspect this is a matter of when rather than if.

Clue

The original Clue film was a comedic yarn that came out back in 1985, directed by Jonathan Lynn from a script based on a story idea that he came up with alongside John Landis.

Another stab (or bludgeoning with lead piping) at the film is currently in development. Universal departed the project in 2011, but Hasbro is pushing forward with Blind Wink Productions, director Gore Verbinski and screenwriters Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama.

We've been told that the new film “expands the narrative to a global stage,” so we may well see a few settings that aren't libraries or billiard rooms. Sacrelige!

The Craft

The popular 1990s teen thriller The Craft is getting the remake treatment, with Honeymoon director Leigh Janiak writing and directing the new film. Phil Graziadei is to co-write the script. None of the original team - writer/director Andrew Fleming, cast members Neve Campbell, Fairuza Balk, Rachel True - are set to be involved, it seems.

Creature From The Black Lagoon

As part of its classic horror monster cinematic universe that it's working on, Universal is putting together a new take on Creature From The Black Lagoon. So far, we've heard that Scarlett Johansson is being targeted to play the female scientist who discovers said creature on an expedition. Jeff Pinkner, who worked on the screenplay for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, is currently scripting this one.

The Crow

This one's stuck right back in development hell. There's been talk for years about a new take on The Crow, with Jack Huston the latest to take on the lead role and then, er, leave it. The collapse of Relativity Media, that was backing the project, proved a further stumbling block. 

Corin Hardy - whose directorial feature debut The Hallow came out recently - was attached to direct for over a year, but left The Crow project in March 2016. There's also a legal case against the reboot, headed by the producer's of the original movie, Edward R Pressman Film Corporation. Don't hold your breath, then.

Cube

The ingenious horror thriller Cube took a single location and really, really made it count. More than its sequel or prequel managed to, certainly. A new version is now on the way though, and it's going by the name of Cubed. Saman Kesh is directing, whilst Philip Gawthorne has penned the new script.

Das Boot

Director Wolfgang Petersen's exemplary submarine thriller, in either its film or TV guise, is pretty much unmissable cinema. That hasn't made it resistant to the fickle finger of remake fate, however.

German firm Bavaria Studios has picked up the rights to Das Boot, and it's planning a reboot. Whether that'll be in the form of a television miniseries or another feature film remains to be seen... 

Death Wish

Bruce Willis has been snapped up to take the lead in the long-mooted remake of Death Wish, in the role that Charles Bronson made famous in the original 1974 vigilante action film. Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado (Big Bad Wolves) are directing the movie, and could start shooting in Summer 2016. Paramount and MGM are the backers.

Don't Look Now

Nope, nothing's sacred. Nicolas Roeg's 1973 horror classic has been picked up by The Picture Company for a remake, with Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman producing. StudioCanal is set to distribute the new Don't Look Now once it's made, but there's no writer or director on board yet that we know of.

Donald Sutherland isn't impressed at all with the news, and has called the reboot plans 'shameful'.

Dumbo

As part of Disney's desire to remake lots of its animated classics in live action, it's attracted the interest of Tim Burton for a new take on Dumbo. Ehren Kruger is working on the screenplay for the film (he's written the last few Transformers movies), and we wait and see whether Dumbo or Beetlejuice 2 will be Burton's next film, once he's done with Miss Peregrine's Home For Unusual Children (which is due in March 2016).

Dungeons & Dragons

Legal mire has held up a planned movie reboot of Dungeons & Dragons for the best part of a decade. There have been three films to date, although only the 2000 original made it to a cinema. However, Warner Bros and Hasbro have now put their lawyers away, and David Leslie Johnson has been hired to write a script for a new Dungeons & Dragons. We'd imagine this one will get fast-tracked too, with an eye on many sequels if it works. 

The Entity

Sidney Furie's 1983 horror The Entity has landed on the desk of The Conjuring and Fast & Furious 7 director James Wan. He's set to produce a new take on the project, with Chad and Carey Hayes writing the screenplay for the new version. No director has thus far been announced, though, but given how busy his schedule is, it won't be Wan.

Escape From New York

Funding now seems to be in place for the remake of Escape From New York, which is set to kick-off a new series of films. Joel Silver is directing, whilst John Carpenter will serve as executive producer. At one stage, one of Charlie Hunnam, Jon Bernthal or Dan Steves was in line for the role of Snake Plissken, but all has gone a little quiet on the casting front. There does seem to be a determination to get this made though.

Explorers

Joe Dante's 1985 sci-fi adventure, that starred Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix, is getting a remake courtesy of Paramount Pictures. the new film will be written by Geoff Moore and Dave Posamentier (Better Living Through Chemistry), with Josh Appelbaum and Andrew Nemec (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) producing. No word on this one in the last year, but we suspect it's still in development.

Fantastic Voyage

A remake of the 1966 sci-fi adventure Fantastic Voyage – which saw a submarine crew shrunk and injected into a scientist’s body to try and repair his brain – has been on James Cameron’s slate for a while. His long-time chum Guillermo del Toro is now in talks to direct, with a script by David Goyer already well underway.

Five Fingers Of Death

Brett Ratner is remaking the Shaw Brothers’ 1973 martial arts spectacular, Five Fingers Of Death. He’ll direct the film, as well as being a producer for the project alongside James Packer. The original film followed a young fighter entering a major fighting tournament in his master’s stead, and also packed in an engaging betrayal arc. 

Flash Gordon

20th Century Fox seems to have the rights together to make a new Flash Gordon feature, and earlier in the year, it was trying to lure Kingsman and X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn in the direction of the film. It's unclear as of yet whether he's accepted the job, but given that the last we heard he was writing Kingsman 2, he may be a long shot.

John Davis is producing along with George Nolfi. Nolfi came up with a treatment for the film, and the script is being penned by Patrick McKay and J D Payne (who worked on an earlier draft of Star Trek Beyond). Samuel L Jones has already expressed interest in reappearing.

Flatliners

This one's been rumoured for some time, but things took a substantive step forward earlier in the year when Niels Arden Oplev - the director of the original movie version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - was hired to helm a new take on Flatliners. Ben Ripley, who wrote Source Code, was working on the script for the film. Flatliners does seem stuck in development at the moment, but we recently heard that Ellen Page might be signing up for a role, which could speed things up.