The Remake Resurgence: Has Originality Left Hollywood?

Is it just me, or is the film industry currently lacking originality? Sequels, spinoffs, remakes, and different takes on classic stories have been overtly saturating the television and movie market. 

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Honestly I have never been opposed to a remake or sequel in the past. One of my favorite movies of this past decade is Little Women, 2019 directed by Greta Gerwig. Although this story has four film adaptations, there was something timeless about Gerwig’s version. Maybe I’m blinded by Timothée Chalamet’s heart-shattering, lovestruck Laurie or Saoirse Ronan’s ambiguous embodiment of Jo March’s writer in the dark, because it gave me hope–maybe remakes do have the unique ability to give spotlight to a story that has not lost meaning, but attention.

So why am I being critical of film remakes when there’s clearly a time and place for them? Maybe it has to do with the sheer amount of media that is being consumed on a regular basis. 

The film critic Matt Zoller Seitz described this current era that the film industry is experiencing as content defeating cinema. 

It seems as though Netflix releases new trending television shows and movies to stream every few weeks, and the next best thing at the theatre is either the most recent horror release, Disney live-action movie, or superhero film. I have no problem with people who enjoy any of these, I love jump scares, Disney magic should be felt by everyone, and I admit I had a Marvel superfan phase, but what haven’t we seen yet? 

Ratings and money have a lot to do with what stories are being turned into movies, and I am sure film companies aren’t looking to risk either of these. Although remakes may bring about a sense of nostalgia, they are lacking the artistic value that original stories might add to Hollywood’s atmosphere. They are mostly just meant to bring studios revenue, all while they can avoid paying their workers fair, liveable wages. 

Right now, maybe even because of the current economic climate, studios are straying from taking riskier business moves and choices on what creative projects to pursue. Prequels, remakes, and reboots are literally the safest bet for an industry that has never been known to provide stability, so in all reality, I can’t completely blame them when they are thinking of cinema as money, not art. 

From the top of my head, I can name quite a few. Shrek has a fifth film in production, Wuthering Heights, an already popular page to screen adaptation, is being made by Saltburn’s very own Emerald Fennell. My favorite movie by Martin Scorsese, The Age of Innocence (1993), is becoming a Netflix show. The Chronicles of Narnia is getting a two-film installment remake by Greta Gerwig, and the beloved story of Harry Potter is in the works to become a television series. I am having a really hard time imagining anyone else other than Daniel Radcliffe embodying the character of Harry Potter. ,

Embracing change–whether that’s cast choices, storylines, or modern versions–is one thing, but doesn’t it feel paradoxical to embrace change when filmmakers are releasing new films or tv shows that are telling the same stories, just with superficial nuances?

Has Hollywood run out of ideas? 

Currently we are in a remake resurgence, which has happened before, and is not a new occurrence in the entertainment business. Right now, we are experiencing at least 19 remakes per year. This doesn’t seem like a lot when it comes to the amount of film and tv that is released annually, but in regards to this year and the next, it seems as though remakes are being more highly anticipated than other original films. 

I don’t think Hollywood has run out of original ideas, I think Hollywood is just taking less risks. You always hear about how difficult it is to get your foot in the door when it comes to Hollywood and the entertainment industry. Maybe these difficulties stem from the fact that Hollywood itself is not willing to take uncertain chances. But for the sake of creativity, originality, and versatility of storytelling, it’s time Hollywood takes a few risks for herself. 

Nonetheless, most of us have probably been complicit in the remake resurgence, which isn’t a crime, and I wholeheartedly believe there is still a place where remakes and reboots can nurture the nostalgia and timelessness of storytelling. 

But more importantly, we need to make room and space for narratives that have not been told before. They deserve the attention that all retellings have experienced in their time of initial release as well. Being so averse to risk is causing serious selectiveness and dismissal of newness in Hollywood, and the truth is, every classic started out as an original at one point or another.