Flatliners is one of those movies that could get remade every decade or so. The concept is a fairly simple one: ambitious medical students purposefully die and then revive themselves in order to get a glimpse of the afterlife. Naturally, this doesn’t go well and some supernatural shenanigans start occurring. The original film had a star-studded cast and sharp direction from Joel Schumacher (yes, that Joel Schumacher).
Well, Hollywood knows to never let a good idea stay dead. Sony Pictures has slated a release date for a new version of Flatliners. The reboot will hit theaters on August 18, 2017. Confirmed cast members include Ellen Page, Diego Luna, Nina Dobrev, James Norton, and Kiersey Clemons. Also, the original film’s lead, Kiefer Sutherland, will be popping up in the reboot. So, is this actually a sequel? I guess “sequel” is a dirtier word nowadays whereas “soft reboot” is nicer? Or will Sutherland be playing a new character? The IMDb page doesn’t give his character name so anything’s possible at this point.
If the new version is a sequel of sorts, I hope it doesn’t just copy and paste the plot of the original. There’s a lot of interesting ways you could go with the core idea, and a lazy retread would just be distracting nd pointless. I also wonder if the newer version will get more inventive with the afterlife sequences. I have a lot of faith thanks to the people behind the camera; Ben Ripley (Source Code) is handling the screenplay and Niels Arden Oplev (director of the pilot episode of Mr. Robot and the original The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) is in the director’s chair. That’s a solid combination.
If this is a remake, I hope it’s a good one. We get far too many bad remakes. Regardless, we’ll keep an eye on this one as it has already entered production.
