Oliver Stone and Michael Douglas are teaming up to make a 22 years later sequel to Wall Street. They say it’s to reflect headlines so presumably Gordon Gekko (Douglas) has become something like an AIG CEO or perhaps even a Bernie Madoff. Shia LeBeouf is attached but the Sheens evidently are not.
There’s also talk every so often of a Godfather IV centering on Andy Garcia’s character in which the Corleone family is now devolved into crack dealing and other street crime. Since everybody from the first 3 is either dead in real life or in the plotline save for Kay (who it wouldn’t make sense to have anyway) and Connie (good for continuity but not enough) it would seem less a sequel than another modern mob movie. (Since the year of Michael’s death was never given he could perhaps have a cameo, but not a major role.)
Are there any other 80s movies (or 70s or 90s- in other words movies that haven’t been touched in a good many years) that you think could stand a sequel? The ones I think could work if the script was right would be-
Torch Song Trilogy- whatever happened to Arnold? Arnold would be around 60 now, the AIDS plague that was just beginning when the play/movie premiered is now fairly distant so that would have to be retrospected. Both actresses who played his mother (Estelle Getty on stage and Anne Bancroft in the movie) are dead so I think the character should be as well, but Brian Kerwin’s still around (and looking pretty good for 60). The aging gay guy isn’t dealt with in film that much, and Arnold would have a unique perspective of having been open and out before most of the afterElton generation were born so his takes on gay celebs and gay marriage and the religious right could be poignant and funny. The Breakfast Club- I always figured they went out when Anthony Michael Hall’s character blew up the school a few weeks later, but assuming that didn’t happen a 25th reunion movie could work. Emilio Estevez is now the coach, Judd Nelson the vice principal (or the janitor) and Anthony Heald is still the principal while Ally Sheedy is now a Jr. League soccer mom and Molly Ringwald a recently out butch lesbian. Or not.
Coming to America- Murphy made a pilot (don’t know if it ever aired) many years ago revolving around Akeem’s younger brother who comes to stay with John Amos. Too late for that, but a revolution in Zamunda that makes King Jaffe (James Earl Jones) an exile along with Akeem, Lisa, and their young adult children all having to crowd in with John Amos in his retirement condo might work. Samuel Jackson should play the new owner of McDowell’s (he turned his life around in prison- somewhat) and Eriq LaSalle is back as the Prince of Soul Glo (who’s now a corporate raider).
Ferris Bueller’s Time Off For Good Behavior- Ferris, newly released from prison for finally getting caught in an embezzlement scam and date rape, must avoid Cameron (who he framed as an accomplice) and Principal Rooney (who has gone unhinged since being arrested for taking pornographic pictures of minors and blames Ferris).
I know it’s not the 80s, but I’ve occasionally wondered what sort of woman Scout Finch grew up to be. Or would we be ruling out movies based on books that had no sequels?
How about a sequel to Parenthood? Grandparenthood, of course. I realize that there’s a tv show that may or many not ever air to update Parenthood, but I’m thinking this movie could be about the Buckmans dealing not only with their fully-grown kids, but also their spawn. Some of their grandchildren would probably be doomed, so it could be entertaining.
High concept sequel: Hannah and her Sisters in Montana: It’s the story of a washed-up country singer who goes all LDS on a ranch in Montana and weds a trio of sisters from Manhattan. The tension ratchets up a notch when the guy the sisters were previously connected with – a kvetchy, angst-ridden film-maker from New York – comes out for a visit. Act one ends with the country singer catching the film-maker in bed with his seventeen-year-old daughter. “There was a spider in my room!” whines the film-maker as the country singer boots his ass around the compound.
Act two starts with a musical number:
You say Manhattan, and I say Montana,
You say Mia Farrow, and I say Where’s my lawyer?
Manhattan, Montana
Mia, My lawyer, (Time out for porking your daughter!)
Let’s call the whole thing boff!
I know the Star Wars franchise ended in '83 with Return of the Jedi, and it was going a bit down hill, but I reckon there’s room for some good sequels still. Or maybe even prequels - that’d be a cool idea.
There was talk a few years back of making a sequel to Ferris Bueller, in which he would be some sort of motivational speaker about to hit 40. There was even speculation that John Hughes would come back and direct. But ultimately I don’t think anything came out of it.
That seems pretty dumb to me. At the end of Wall Street Charlie Sheen was wearing a wire. Presumably Gordon Gekko went to jail like Michael Milken. No way the character is believably going to be a power broker now.
I think it is time to revisit the Conan franchise. Duane Johnson is the natural choice. I don’t want a repeat of the origin story, either. There’re many good stories about Conan as a man of adventure that would make great screenplays.
It’s a “reboot” but Conan doesn’t really have a canonical origin story so we can’t be sure what they’ll do. They said they’re sticking close to REH’s stories this time, I wonder if they’re going to do an adaptation of a couple or just stick to the theme. I, for one, vote for a Conan the Thief or Conan the Pirate one.
I always liked the idea of Ferris Bueller Jr’s Day Off. Get some new kid to play his son and have him go through similar antics as his dad used to. Matthew Broderick would play his dad of course, but he would only be in the movie about as much as his father had been. Clearly he would be wise to what his kid was doing, which would be part of the joke.
Whether a sequel or a new concept altogether, I think a new Brat Pack movie is long overdue and if halfway decent could be a hit as more Gen X/Gen Y’ers who grew up with their movies find themselves 40-somethings and wondering “how did I go from St. Elmo’s Fire to Hot Flashes?” Not sure which movie would be the best for a sequel or if it should be an original project though as, to be honest, I never saw that many BRAT PACK movies.
I’d love to see a sequel to The Princess Bride… perhaps showing Inigo as Dread Pirate Roberts, and about to hand the torch over to the next one… Maybe it turns out it’s Westley and Buttercup’s son, or something.
Some movies are de facto sequels: The River’s Edge follows Easy Rider (Billy and Feck are the same guy), Election expands on Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (It’s his come-uppance for what he put that poor principal through), Mean Girls continues Heathers (Veronica Sawyer grew up to be Tina Fey).
I can’t imagine anyone who watched a John Hughes movie in the 80s buying a ticket to its post-millennial sequel, or any teenager it would be marketed to having seen the original. The ship has sailed and none of the Brat Pack are particularly cute anymore.
I would kinda like to see Miley Cyrus clutch her throat and say “Corn Nuts,” though.