Yahoo Movies From ‘Reality Bites’ to ‘Fatal Attraction,’ Keep Track of All the Upcoming Film-to-TV Adaptations
There’s nothing as tempting as IP: Just ask the studio streaming titans of today, who are diving deep into their film catalogs to reboot and reimagine hit films from decades past.
Just one summer (sorry, we had to) since slasher “I Know What You Did Last Summer” found new life as an Amazon Prime Video series, and it seems that all our favorite “old” movies are finding new life on streamers and networks alike.
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CBS announced shortly after canning a slew of shows that a reboot of the 1994 Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis film “True Lies” will head to the network soon.
NBCUniversal also recently announced on May 12 a “re-framing” of Ben Stiller’s beloved 1994 burnout dramedy “Reality Bites,” which originally starred Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke. The series is set to debut on Peacock, along with a bevy of other Universal titles being transformed for the small screen.
And that’s not even the half of it: Paramount+ pitched a re-imagining of “Fatal Attraction,” on the heels of the making-of “The Godfather” series, “The Offer.” Even “Gremlins” landed an animated prequel series at HBO Max.
Plus, don’t forget Jon Spaihts’ “Dune” prequel series, “Dune: The Sisterhood,” set in the works on HBO Max, taking place well before the events of the movies, as well as the numerous “Batman” spinoffs set to drop on that platform, including Colin Farrell’s “Scarface”-esque Penguin series and director Matt Reeves’ haunted house vision of the Arkham Asylum. The slated “Gotham City P.D.” procedural is reportedly on hold at the streamer under Reeves’ overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group as Reeves helms the follow-up film.
Keep scrolling to see which other famed former film titles are being resurrected for the sake of streaming below.
Peacock
“Reality Bites”
©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
While no casting has been announced yet, the shoes of Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke’s star-making vehicle are certainly hard to fill for a period piece reboot. Original screenwriter Helen Childress returns to pen the Peacock adaptation, which will be centered on the “driven, idealistic Lelaina Pierce and her three best friends as they leave college and try ‘adulting’ in the 1990s,” as The Hollywood Reporter announced. “As the world around them is on the brink of a seismic shift, they struggle to hold onto who they are, and to each other.”
Childress will also executive produce alongside “Good Girls” creator Jenna Bans, plus Casey Kyber and original film exec producers Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher, and Danny DeVito. Stiller is reportedly not attached to the Peacock revival.
“Field of Dreams”
©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
Limited series based on the 1989 feature film of the same name, Peacock’s “Field of Dreams” returns to the Major League Baseball magic of Iowa. Truly keeping in mind the “if you build it, they will come” mentality, Peacock greenlit the series from “Parks and Recreation” co-creator Mike Schur, who will write and executive produce alongside original film producer Lawrence Gordon and David Miner and Morgan Sackett.
The Oscar-nominated Universal Pictures fantasy film starred Kevin Costner, Ray Liotta, Gaby Hoffmann, Burt Lancaster, and James Earl Jones, and centered on a farmer who finds a divine calling to build a heaven-bridging baseball field. The story is based on W.P. Kinsella’s 1982 novel about Shoeless Joe Jackson, a member of the “Black Sox” team of the Chicago White Sox, who threw the 1919 World Series as part of a gambling bet.
“Pitch Perfect”
©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
The Cups Song can add in a few more solos. After three films, “Pitch Perfect” lands a Peacock spin-off starring Adam Devine’s a capella crooning character. Sarah Hyland, Jameela Jamil, Flula Borg, and Lera Abova lend their voices to the series set several years after the film trilogy.
Devine’s Bumper character moves to Germany to revive his singing career after one of his songs breaks big in Berlin. Piëter (Borg) is his agent abroad. Hyland is set to play Piëter’s assistant, who moonlights as a cabaret singer. Abova stars as Piëter’s DJ sister, and Jamil is an up-and-coming German pop star. “The Good Place” writer and executive producer Megan Amram serves as showrunner and exec producer, alongside the film franchise’s Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman, Paul Brooks, Scott Neimeyer and actor Devine.
“Ted”
©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
Seth MacFarlane’s live-action comedy “Ted” takes a turn to TV. MacFarlane returns to voice the animated foul-mouthed teddy bear, plus will write, direct, co-showrun, and executive produce the series with co-showrunners, writers, and fellow executive producers Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh.
The prequel series is set in 1993 when Ted helps 16-year-old John Bennett (Max Burkholder) come of age in Boston. Mark Wahlberg played John in the two movies. Giorgia Whigham stars as John’s older cousin, college student Blaire, in the series, who lives with John and his parents. Scott Grimes plays John’s father who thinks he is the patriarch of the family.
“Fear”
Universal
Iconic teen psychological thriller 1996 film “Fear” starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Wahlberg as a toxic young couple is getting a TV reimagining. “The Path” creator Jessica Goldberg is set to write and executive produce the upcoming adaptation for Peacock, with original film producer Brian Grazer also executive producing alongside Ron Howard.
The official synopsis for the upcoming series reads: This modern series reinvention finds two young lovers in a psychological game of cat and mouse—but who’s the cat, and who’s the mouse? When David and Nicole first meet in Seattle, it feels like an epic, once-in-a-lifetime romance – but soon it becomes clear that the seemingly perfect couple is anything but. Told from conflicting points of view, the series wrestles with personal demons, hidden agendas and reframes the “he said, she said” convention into a twist-filled suspense story about toxic relationships.
Paramount+
“Fatal Attraction”
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
The beloved bunny boiler story is back, courtesy of Paramount+. Exactly 35 years after the Adrian Lyne-helmed original film premiered, “Fatal Attraction” is getting a TV adaptation starring Lizzy Caplan as Alex, the unhinged mistress of family man Joshua Jackson.
Glenn Close and Michael Douglas originated the respective roles in the 1987 Academy Award-nominated erotic thriller. Close previously told IndieWire that she hopes the Paramount+ series will show a different, more empathetic side of “tragic” figure Alex… you know, before she murdered her lover’s kid’s pet. Plot details have been kept under wraps as the series is currently in production.
“Flashdance”
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Speaking of Adrian Lyne films, “Dear White People” creator Justin Simien is set to adapt and direct a modern retelling of the director’s 1983 Paramount Pictures film “Flashdance,” which originally starred Jennifer Beals as a steel mill worker with ballerina dreams.
The Paramount+ series was announced after another “Flashdance” reboot was slated at CBS All Access in 2020 with Tracy McMillan writing and Angela Robinson directing. The former CBS project was meant to center on a young Black dancer who worked at a strip club while “struggling to find her place in the world while navigating romance, money, art, friendship, and how to love herself” on the road to becoming a ballet star.
The plot for Simien’s “Flashdance” is still hush-hush but original film star Beals didn’t dance around the subject in an interview with Insider. Despite being involved in the first deal with Robinson, Beals has not yet been contacted by Simien for the Paramount+ series. “I wish them well and I’m excited to see what they come up with,” Beals said. “I’m sure Justin has come up with something really interesting.”
“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”
Paramount Pictures
John Hughes’ beloved “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is getting the spin-off treatment thanks to upcoming “Sam and Victor’s Day Off” set to take place during the same day Ferris (Mathew Broderick), best friend Cameron (Alan Ruck), and girlfriend Sloan (Mia Sara) skipped school. In the original 1986 film, Sam and Victor were the valet attendants who took Cameron’s father’s red Ferrari out on a joyride; the then-unnamed characters were portrayed by Richard Edson and Larry “Flash” Jenkins.
“Cobra Kai” creators Jon Hurwtiz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald, are producing the Paramount+ installment, with head of development Dina Hillier executive producing. “Cobra Kai” was inspired by “Karate Kid,” another classic ’80s film.
“Key & Peele” producer Paul Young will also produce “Sam and Victor’s Day Off” via Make Good Content. Bill Posley, a writer for “Cobra Kai,” will write the screenplay.
“The Italian Job”
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
The follow-up to the 1969 heist film starring Michael Caine as thief Charlie Croker supposedly picks up with the grandchildren of the acclaimed thief reigniting a quest for the infamous Italian bullion. “The Italian Job” was remade in 2003 with Mark Wahlberg starring as Croker’s kin and Caine reprising his original role. Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Jason Statham, and Donald Sutherland rounded out the cast.
The Paramount+ series, as announced in 2021, will also be produced by the sequel film’s producer Donald De Line. Matt Wheeler is attached to write and executive produce.
“Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies”
“Grease” prequel series “Rise of the Pink Ladies” is set in 1954, four years before the original “Grease” musical film starring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta. The series follows four outcasts who “spark moral panic” at Rydell High, according to an official synopsis. Showrunner and series creator Annabel Oakes writes and executive produces, along with Marty Bowen and Adam Fishbach. Director Althea Jones will direct three episodes, plus executive produce.
Marisa Davila, Chris McNally, Charlotte Kavanagh, Josette Halpert, Nicholas McDonough, Maximo Weber Salas, Jackie Hoffman, and Alexis Sides make up the ensemble cast. The series features new original music, written and executive produced by Grammy-nominated Justin Tranter. Choreographer Jamal Sims will be behind the musical numbers for the series.
“Love Story”
Courtesy Everett Collection
Inspired by the 1970 Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal romance, “Love Story” brings the epic to modern audiences thanks to “Gossip Girl” executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage.
“From the main title theme to the class conflict and classic American style, ‘Love Story’ is truly iconic,” Schwartz and Savage said in a press statement. “We’re beyond excited to update it for the next generation.”
The original “Love Story” received seven Academy Award nominations upon release. O’Neal played wealthy Harvard law student Oliver Barrett IV, who falls for middle-class musician Jenny Cavilleri (MacGraw). However, Oliver’s father (Ray Milland) disapproves of their relationship. The young couple tie the knot in secret but their newlywed life is shattered once Jenny realizes she has a terminal illness.
“The Parallax View”
Courtesy Everett Collection
Alan J. Pakula’s paranoia-infused olitical thriller “The Parallax View” starred Warren Beatty as a newspaper reporter who uncovers a deadly conspiracy surrounding the assassination of a presidential candidate. The 1974 film was based on the novel of the same name. Paramount+ announced in 2021 that “Mission: Impossible” producer Paula Wagner would exec produce an adaptation for the streamer.
“Urban Cowboy”
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Country romance “Urban Cowboy” gets a Paramount+ twist with an adaptation of the 1980 drama starring John Travolta and Debra Winger as Bud and Sissy, two Texan bar patrons who are entangled in a love-hate relationship. “The Circle” writer-director James Ponsoldt is behind the TV series in the works, which reportedly will “go deeper” into Bud’s journey from the farm to Houston in the 1980s. The period piece series will feature music from the era.
A former series reboot was previously in the works at Fox in 2015, centered in the Latinx community.
“The Bad News Bears”
Paramount/Everett
CBS is tapping into Paramount’s movie library with a single-camera comedy “The Bad News Bears” in the works updated with an all-girls baseball team. The TV series is based on the 1976 film of the same name about an alcoholic former pro baseball player (Walter Matthau) who becomes a coach for a Little League team made up of misfit tweens. The film was remade in 2005 with Billy Bob Thornton in the lead role, and spurred a two-season CBS series from 1979 to 1980 with Jack Warden playing the coach.
“Black-ish” executive producer and “Fresh Off the Boat” co-creator Corey Nickerson is attached to pen the series, now about a divorced mother who whips a Little League team into shape, and finds purpose along the way. Per Deadline, the series will “weave in personal experiences from Nickerson who coached her son’s baseball team.” Nickerson also serves as an executive producer.
Showtime
“American Gigolo”
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Jon Bernthal takes the escort reins from Richard Gere as Los Angeles male prostitute Julian Kaye. The Showtime series is based on Paul Schrader’s 1980 Paramount Pictures film about a male escort framed for the murder of one of his clients. The “American Gigolo” TV adaptation hails from “Ray Donovan” creator David Hollander, who writes and directs the present-day reimagining of the original film. The series picks up with Bernthal playing Kaye 15 years after he’s been arrested for murder and struggling to find his footing in the modern-day Los Angeles sex industry. Kaye investigates what really led to the setup that sent him to prison while he tries to reconnect with his former love interest Michelle (Gretchen Mol).
Hollander was later dismissed from the upcoming series amid allegations of misconduct. Co-executive producer David Bar Katz, who also worked with Hollander on Showtime’s “Ray Donovan,” also later exited the project over creative differences after briefly being showrunner, further suspending production. “The Offer” executive producers Nikki Toscano and Russell Rothberg joined the series as consulting producers. It is believed that Toscano is taking over production to round out the season and finish the eighth and final episode.
HBO Max
“Irma Vep”
HBO
Alicia Vikander leads Olivier Assayas’ remake of his own 1996 film “Irma Vep,” this time for HBO Max. Oscar-winner Vikander transforms into Mira, an American movie star who jets off to France to star as Irma Vep in a remake of the French silent film “Les Vampires.” Yet life soon imitates art as Mira struggles to see where Irma ends and her reality begins. The meta limited series is set to make its debut at 2022 Cannes before premiering on HBO Max June 6.
Produced in partnership with A24, the series additionally stars Vincent Macaigne, Jeanne Balibar, Devon Ross, Lars Eidinger, Vincent Lacoste, Nora Hamzawi, Adria Arjona, Carrie Brownstein, Tom Sturridge, Byron Bowers, Fala Chen, Hippolyte Girardot, Alex Descas, and Antoine Reinartz. Assayas and Vikander executive produce the series along with “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson and Ashley Levinson. The original film starred Maggie Cheung in the lead role.
Prime Video
“A League of Their Own”
Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock
Inspired by Penny Marshall’s 1992 film of the same name, Prime Video’s “A League of Their Own” stars co-creator Abbi Jacobson, D’Arcy Carden, and Chanté Adams as professional baseball players during WWII. Nick Offerman plays Coach Casey “Dove” Porter, who was portrayed by Tom Hanks in the original film. Rosie O’Donnell will also star in the series as a bartender, albeit in a different role than her 1992 turn. Nat Faxon and Kevin Dunn play the team manager and team owner, respectively. “Broad City” alum Jacobson co-created the series based on a true story, along with Will Graham and Sony Pictures TV. The half-hour comedy series will debut at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival.
“Mr. and Mrs. Smith”
©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
“Atlanta” creator Donald Glover co-creates, executive produces, and stars in Prime Video’s “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” about a married spy couple. Originally, “Fleabag” breakout Phoebe Waller-Bridge was set to co-create and also star; the “No Time to Die” writer exited the project after creative differences. “PEN15” creator Maya Erskine took over the role, originated by Angelina Jolie in the 2005 Doug Liman-helmed film opposite Brad Pitt. Francesca Sloane is co-creator, executive producer and showrunner. New Regency’s Yariv Milchan and Michael Schaefer also executive produce.
“Dead Ringers”
Everett
David Cronenberg’s cult 1988 medical thriller “Dead Ringers” gets a gender-swapped twist thanks to an upcoming Prime Video series, announced in 2020. Rachel Weisz executive produces and stars in the Amazon installment from Annapurna Television and Morgan Creek Entertainment, the company behind the original movie. “Normal People” series writer Alice Birch pens the reimagined psychological drama.
Weisz stars as the identical Mantle twins, two gynecologists who are on a mission to change the way women give birth thanks to illegal medical research. The original Cronenberg movie starred Jeremy Irons in the twin roles; the duo’s relationship slowly crumbles after they both fall in love with the same woman and one succumbs to drug addiction. However, Deadline reported that Weisz’s turn will explore a different tone involving women’s reproductive health in the modern era.
Production was underway as of fall 2021.
“Blade Runner 2099”
Stephen Vaughan
Following Denis Villeneuve’s critically acclaimed “Blade Runner” sequel “Blade Runner 2049,” Prime Video revisits the future in the series “Blade Runner 2099.” Ridley Scott, who directed the original 1982 film starring Harrison Ford, is executive producing the show, with “Shining Girls” showrunner Silka Luisa attached to write and executive produce. “Blade Runner 2099” marks the first live-action franchise installment, with sources reportedly hinting that Scott may even direct.
“Blade Runner” is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s sci-fi novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” set in dystopian Los Angeles in the year 2019. Space-assigned synthetic humans dubbed replicants are hunted down after being integrated on Earth. The 2017 neo-noir sequel “Blade Runner 2049” starred Ryan Gosling, Jared Leto, Ana de Armas, and Dave Bautista, with Ford reprising his original iconic role.
“Butch and Sundance”
Everett
“Bridgerton” breakout Regé-Jean Page and “Top Gun: Maverick” scene-stealer Glen Powell are set to lead the reimagining of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” for Prime Video. The straight-to-series order landed at Prime Video after a bidding war (Amazon beat out Disney+ and Peacock, per The Hollywood Reporter) and Joe and Anthony Russo are executive producing with company AGBO. “The Eternals” scribes Kaz and Ryan Firpo will pent the script. It is believed that “Butch and Sundance,” set in an alternate American reality, will lead to a larger franchise with multiple spin-off shows for the streamer. Lead stars Page and Powell are also serving as executive producers.
FX
“Alien”
20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock
Director Ridley Scott’s “Alien” is also being adapted for the small screen from “Fargo” showrunner Noah Hawley. The FX series will be a prequel to the 1979 sci-fi slasher, which famously starred Sigourney Weaver as astronaut turned alien hunter Ellen Ripley. The TV adaptation is the first “Alien” franchise story to take place on Earth and before the days of Ripley, with Hawley explaining that the show is set roughly 70 years from 2022. The only character from the original “Alien” film to appear in the show is, well, the titular extraterrestrial. The prequel is slated to film in 2023.
CBS
“True Lies”
Everett
James Cameron’s 1994 iconic action espionage marriage comedy “True Lies” gets a series order on CBS, with the original director signing on as an executive producer. Ginger Gonzaga leads the reboot series as a suburban housewife in a loveless marriage who finds a new level of attraction to her computer consultant husband (Steve Howey) after discovering he is secretly an international spy. Jamie Lee Curtis and Arnold Schwarzenegger famously originated the roles.
The “True Lies” series also stars Erica Hernandez, Omar Miller, Mike O’Gorman, Annabella Didion, and Lucas Jaye. “Burn Notice” alum Matt Nix serves as showrunner and penned the pilot script. Anthony Hemingway directs the series and executive produces alongside Cameron and his Lightstorm Entertainment partner Rae Sanchini.
Reportedly, “True Lies” is being eyed for a midseason premiere after being in the works since February 2021.
AMC
“Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire”
Francois Duhamel/Geffen/Kobal/Shutterstock
Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Christian Slater, Antonio Banderas, and Kirsten Dunst iconically starred in Neil Jordan’s 1994 film “Interview With the Vampire” based on Anne Rice’s horror novel. Now, the book is getting a small screen adaptation starring “Game of Thrones” alum Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid as two vampires who sink their teeth into a tumultuous relationship after turning a young girl (Bailey Bass) into an immortal bloodsucker. The erotic thriller is set in New Orleans, with the AMC iteration introducing a new lounge singer character played by Maura G. Hooper.
Pre-Production
“The Wicker Man”
The bees are back! Without being linked to a broadcaster yet, “The Wicker Man” is being adapted into a TV series. The 1973 classic film was infamously remade in 2006 starring Nicholas Cage. Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish’s The Imaginarium and Studiocanal-backed Urban Myth Films are currently behind the series centered in a modern setting with a police sergeant traveling to a remote island with supernatural religious ties to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. “War of the Worlds” writer Howard Overman penned the script, which is currently being shopped around, as reported by Deadline.
“The Gangs of New York”
Everett
Oscar winner Martin Scorsese is set to executive produce and direct the first two episodes of an upcoming TV adaptation of “The Gangs of New York.” Scorsese helmed the 2002 film based on Herbert Asbury’s 1927 non-fiction book about the rise of organized crime in the U.S.; Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Cameron Diaz starred in the original film. Deadline first reported that Scorsese is revisiting the IP for a series developed internally at Miramax TV from a script written by “Fear the Walking Dead” scribe and playwright Brett Leonard (“Shantaram”). Scorsese similarly executive produced (and won an Emmy directing the pilot) HBO series “Boardwalk Empire.” Scorsese and “The Gangs of New York” alum DiCaprio are also executive producing the adaptation of “Devil in the White City,” also set in the late-1800s.
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