When a movie or TV show becomes successful in Hollywood, it can go one of two ways: either it will get 17,000 sequels and spinoffs until the franchise is unrecognizable, or it will be left in peace for a decade or two before getting the reboot treatment. While the recycling of ideas is a little uninspired (it’s not exactly like Hollywood has maxed out on telling every possible story), there are some old hits that we’re genuinely excited to see in their new 2020 glory. Which are those, you may ask?
For starters, we have The Twilight Zone and Perry Mason, two beloved long-running series that look very different in 2020, thanks to Jordan Peele and HBO’s modernist treatment, respectively. Then there’s The Babysitter’s Club, which will soon be a 10-episode series on Netflix starring our favorite young babysitters.
Another nostalgic fave? High Fidelity on Hulu, whose remake has some especially exciting details. While the 2000 film starring John Cusack as a music-obsessed record store employee Rob, the 2020 TV reboot has Zoë Kravitz taking the lead. (Fun fact: Her mother, Lisa Bonet, was in the original.) This key casting shift is an opportunity to put a fresh spin on the idea of a pop-culture obsessive who struggles romantically, and while we’ll always have a soft spot for Cusack, Kravitz is the perfect pick to bring this trope into the 21st century.
Other reboots planned for 2020 include Little Shop of Horrors, Home Alone, Blade, and more — and we hope that each one will be as thoughtful and unique as High Fidelity. After all, we’re not really interested in seeing the same story decades later if we have nothing to add to the story. In that case, we might as well have left perfection alone.
Here are all the 2020 TV and movie reboots planned — so far.
‘Pretty Little Liars’ (2010-2017)
Get pumped! Pretty Little Liars, which first debuted ten years again (yes, it’s been that long) is getting a reboot. If you’re an avid PLL fan, you’ll know this is a big deal. The show, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, will be helmed by Riverdale producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina producer Lindsay Calhoon Bring. With their experience in the teen thriller space, the series is in very good hands.
“Set in the present day, 20 years after a series of tragic events almost ripped the blue-collar town of Millwood apart, the new “Pretty Little” liars will center around a group of disparate teen girls who find themselves tormented by an unknown assailant and made to pay for the secret sin their parents committed two decades ago,” Variety writes.
The show will stream on HBO Max, with a release date TBD.
‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ (1990-1996)
Attention, ’90s babies: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has a reboot in the works! Smith took to Instagram to tease the reunion special with co-stars Tatyana Ali, Karyn Parsons, Joseph Marcell, Daphne Maxwell Reid, and Alfonso Ribeiro.
Smith himself will be producing the series along with Morgan Cooper, who directed a popular trailer called Bel-Air in 2019 based on the original show. The reboot will focus on what it means to be a Black man in America today and will air on HBO Max around Thanksgiving.
‘Rebecca’ (1940)
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 Rebecca is getting the 2020 treatment with a Netflix remake starring Armie Hammer and Lily James as the wealthy widow and his second wife, both haunted by the lingering presence of first wife Rebecca.
‘The Magic School Bus’ (1994-1997)
Everyone’s favorite classroom adventure series is coming back in a major way! After two TV series of The Magic School Bus, one by PBS and one by Netflix, there’s now a live-action movie in the works starring Elizabeth Banks as Ms. Frizzle. All aboard!
‘Unsolved Mysteries’ (1987-2010)
Netflix is taking on Unsolved Mysteries in 2020, teaming up with Stranger Things producer Shawn Levy to bring back the cult-favorite cold case series. The 12-episode season will focus each episode on a distinct case, and it all comes out on Netflix on July 1.
‘The Twilight Zone’ (1959-1964)
Jordan Peele of Get Out and Us fame is certainly no slouch when it comes to sci-fi, and his eye for where fantasy meets meaning is on full display in his reboot of the Twilight Zone TV series. With season 2 premiering on CBS All Access on June 25, we can’t wait to see more of Peele’s eerie, mesmerizing sci-fi fare with stars like Joel McHale, Christopher Meloni, and many, many more.
‘Perry Mason’ (1957-1966)
Originally a series of short stories by Erle Stanley Gardner, Perry Mason was a beloved CBS legal drama about the eponymous criminal defense lawyer in Los Angeles. HBO’s revival in 2020, starring Matthew Rhys, takes a decidedly darker spin on the source material — less Law & Order, and more noir.
‘The Witches’ (1990)
When it comes to Anjelica Huston in the 1990 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Witches, it was a match made in heaven — and any subsequent reboots shall only serve to build upon its greatness. Next in line to play the Grand High Witch is Anne Hathaway, who co-stars with Stanley Tucci, Octavia Spencer, Chris Rock, and more in this 2021 Robert Zemeckis pic that takes Dahl’s vision of child-hating witches into high gear.
‘Clifford the Big Red Dog’ (2000-2002)
Everybody’s favorite big red dog is back for some feature-length fun. After the success of the Clifford the Big Red Dog rebooted TV series, Paramount has announced a new live-action Clifford movie set for late 2020, starring Big Little Lies’ Darby Camp, Kenan Thompson, and more.
‘West Side Story’ (1961)
Robert Wise’s 1961 film of this classic Sondheim musical is a groundbreaking piece of musical history — and 60 years later, Steven Spielberg is trying his best to unseat it. With up-and-comers like Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler taking the leads, Spielberg’s modern take on the forbidden love story has big shoes to fill come December.
‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ (1995)
Netflix is taking on the Ann M. Martin series as a 10-episode TV show, and recently announced that Alicia Silverstone will play Kristy Thomas’s mother, Elizabeth Thomas-Brewer. There was a previous Baby-Sitters’ Club TV series in 1990, but our fave adaptation so far is the 1995 movie. If you’re looking for a solid 90 minutes of relatable adolescent struggle and a reminder of the power of friendship, look no further — and thank us later.
‘Dune’ (1984)
Famous sci-fi novel Dune is getting a second shot on screen with celebrated Arrival director Dennis Villeneuve in 2020. Starring Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Zendaya, and more, many consider the 2020 reboot a chance to get this sprawling thriller right.
‘Death on the Nile’ (1978)
An Agatha Christie classic, Death on the Nile was first adapted in 1978 with stars like Maggie Smith and Mia Farrow. In 2020, Kenneth Branagh is taking a crack at the murder mystery with a cast including Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Letitia Wright, and more.
‘Little Shop of Horrors’ (1986)
Warner Bros. is bringing the 1986 classic ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ to the bigscreen once again — Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Taron Egerton are rumored to be starring in the remake.
‘High Fidelity’ (2000)
The TV reboot of ‘High Fidelity’ comes out on February 14, 2020 on Hulu, and stars Zoë Kravitz in the role once played by John Cusack. Her co-stars include David H. Holmes and Da’Vine Joy Randolph.
‘Gossip Girl’ (2007-2012)
The Gossip Girl reboot may not follow the OG cast of Upper East Siders — but that’s all the more reason to rewatch this late ’00s classic. You can never have too many shows about glamorous, conniving teens, and Gossip Girl was something of a breakthrough in terms of showing the harmful social dynamics at play in this type of environment. In 2019, it almost reads like a warning of the social media surveillance to come, when you know where your friends are at all times from the click of a button. Also, Penn Badgley and Blake Lively’s romance is one for the ages. Xoxo, Gossip Girl.
‘The Grudge’ (2004)
Not a scary movie fan? No worries, just keep on clicking. Yes, there are many Grudge iterations already, but the 2020 reboot director Nicolas Pesce feels strongly that this next one will be different. “I think that horror audiences these days are looking for a much more grounded, much more realistic, much more character-driven story in their horror movies,” Pesce told Entertainment Weekly. “We’re trying to update it for contemporary sensibilities, and we have an unbelievable cast, and I think it’s going to be something very different.” Sounds like a man with a plan! While he works on that, we invite you to spend a few hours watching Sarah Michelle Gellar fight for her life.
‘Home Alone’ (1990)
Admittedly, we don’t know much about the remake at this time: Disney head Bob Iger only just announced that a Home Alone reboot was in the works, and didn’t mention either casting decisions or a potential release date. But who cares! The fact that a reboot even exists is causing some controversy among those who feel the premise just wouldn’t work in 2019. So why not kick back, relax, and look back at simpler times before smartphones took over our lives? Macaulay Culkin got on just fine without one. Also, it’s just an iconic movie, and we’re betting you haven’t rewatched in a while.
‘Masters Of The Universe’ (1987)
Ah, the classic tale of He-Man vs. Skeletor. If those names sound familiar to you but you’ve never actually witnessed the source material, now’s your chance: This 1987 Dolph Lundgren adventure pic is getting a remake starring none other than Noah Centineo. The film will be something of an origin story for He-Man, who starts as a young Prince Adam.
‘The Biggest Loser’ (2004-2016)
The Biggest Loser has had its fair share of controversy, with people accusing the show of encouraging unhealthy and dangerous weight loss methods. But host Bob Harper says the reboot will be totally different: new trainers, new medical team, new everything. “We’re trying to approach it in a completely different way,” Harper told USA Today. “We want to help them while they’re on the show and when they go home, the after care I think is going to be super important for them too.” While you’re waiting for the reboot to come out, why not refresh yourself on the original? Then, you can decide for yourself whether it’s changed for the better.
‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ (2003-2012)
Move that bus! This 2020 reboot has Jesse Tyler Ferguson acting as host (and replacing old host Ty Pennington). The new iteration will have 10 episodes and air on HGTV, and lucky for you, HGTV is airing 100 of the original episodes in the months leading up to the show’s premiere. So, you really have no excuse for not rewatching. You may not need to remind yourself of the plot, but don’t you want to relive the magic of seeing these families get their dream homes?!
‘Blade’ (1998)
Earlier this year, Marvel made a splash at Comic-Con announcing that Mahershala Ali will be taking over Wesley Snipes’s iconic role. The half-vampire half-mortal vampire hunter (still with me?) is getting a modern reboot (release date TBA), and some fans are already clamoring for Snipes to have a part. We’re sure Ali will kill it as Blade, but we strongly recommend watching the original again so you can really appreciate what Ali brings to the hero.
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