We Found Out Who Landed the Leading Roles in the Reboots of 12 Iconic Films

Big studios and famous directors continue to make remakes of classic stories. Maybe it’s because of a lack of ideas or to make sure they’ll get a return on their investment. Or perhaps they’re simply nostalgic and want to bring old originals back to life. But whatever the reason, we get to enjoy super-successful remakes like The Departed and Scarface.

We at Bright Side decided to learn more about some upcoming remakes and find out who’s going to portray these famous roles.

Dune

The Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. novel was already adapted for the big screen by one genius director — David Lynch. But unfortunately, despite some good reviews, the director thinks that this movie was his worst failure. Dune was Kyle MacLachlan’s debut role, but it was jam-packed with other stars, like Sting, Patrick Stewart, Sean Young, and Max von Sydow.

Denis Villeneuve is working on a new version of this movie. He’s already filmed a good sequel to Blade Runner, and we think that this time, he’s going to be just as successful. The role of Paul Atreides will be portrayed by the young star, Timothée Chalamet. The rest of the cast is also impressive and includes Stellan Skarsgård, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, and Zendaya.

The Tragedy of Macbeth

This famous Shakespeare tragedy has been adapted for the big screen many times. The first time it was done was back in 1971 by Roman Polanski. But you probably remember the relatively new film that starred Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in the main roles.

Joel Coen is going to show us a new perspective of this story. Composer Carter Burwell shed some light on the details: “I’ve read the script, and it’s not like they changed the story from what’s in the play. But it’s different. Joel has adapted the play for film and just like the adaptations Joel and Ethan have done with books like No Country for Old Men, it’s interesting how it really does change.” Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand will portray the main characters.

Cruella

101 Dalmatians is a tale about puppies and the scary Cruella de Vil that became famous thanks to the Disney cartoon. The film was released in the ’90s and the main villain was portrayed by Glenn Close.

Cruella will be a prequel to the story we all know. The film will be set in London, long before the 101 Dalmatians story. And in this film, the plot will center around the villain, portrayed by Emma Stone.

Death on the Nile

In 2017, Kenneth Branagh played the main role in his own movie adaption of Murder on the Orient Express. The film had pretty good reviews and the director decided to make another film — Death on the Nile. The previous screen adaptation of this film was released in 1978, and the role of the genius investigator, Hercule Poirot, was portrayed by Peter Ustinov.

The modern version will also have other famous actors in addition to Kenneth Branagh, including Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, and Annette Bening.

The Witches

The 1990 film, The Witches, starring Anjelica Huston in the lead role, was a screen adaptation of Roald Dahl’s novel. This is a story about witches that live among us and hate all kids. And the main character, a 7-year-old boy, has to fight them.

30 years later, a remake of this fantasy family comedy is set to be released. Robert Zemeckis served as the director and Anne Hathaway stepped in as the role of Eva Ernst.

Masters of the Universe

Masters of the Universe is the film adaptation of the self-titled series. The film about a hero from a different planet that protects Earth from destruction was a huge flop. On the other hand, the animated version was really popular. Maybe this is why Sony decided to film a remake.

He-Man will be played by Noah Centineo, and David S. Goyer, who wrote The Dark Knight, wrote the screenplay.

Ratched

This is a TV show you can already see on your screens at home. Ratched is a prequel to the iconic film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The producer of the series, Ryan Murphy, says, “By the time you get to the end of the first season, you will not wonder how and why Mildred became the way she did.”

Sarah Paulson replaces Louise Fletcher from the original film in the role of the cruel nurse.

West Side Story

It’s hard to imagine that something will ever be as good as the original version of West Side Story. It’s currently in second place on the list of AFI’s Greatest Movie Musicals (Singin’ In the Rain is in the lead). At the time, the cast was amazing, with names like Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno.

Steven Spielberg has decided to try and repeat the success of the movie of the ’60s, and his name attached to the project gives us hope. The cast is full of new actors and even some stars from the original. And the role of Maria will be the first of Rachel Zegler’s career.

Tom and Jerry

The cartoon series will appear on the big screen as a full-length feature film. And while Jerry and Tom will remain animated, all the other actors and sets will be real. You can expect to see some famous names in the cast, including Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, and Rob Delaney.

The story revolves around a wedding in a prestigious hotel where Jerry lives. To deal with the mouse that might ruin the upcoming event, the hotel employees bring in a street cat named Tom.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

The son of the creator of the original Ghostbusters, Jason Reitman, is making a sequel to the first 2 films. The story is about 2 teenagers that find out their family is connected to the legendary Ghostbusters. At the same time, something strange starts to happen in their town.

The roles in the new film will be played by Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, and Paul Rudd. Also, almost all the characters from the first 2 movies will appear in the project, including Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver.

Batman

Batman is one of the most popular superheroes in movies, and he’s been on the big screen about 50 times. He’s been played by Adam West, Michael Keaton, George Clooney, Ben Affleck, and Christian Bale.

In 2021, Matt Reeves is going to release a new Batman film with Robert Pattinson in the starring role. The story revolves around the murder of the Gotham mayor and several criminal gangs.

Walker

One of the most famous TV series characters, a Texas ranger named Walker, will soon return to screens. The main role will be portrayed by the star of Supernatural, Jared Padalecki.

The story, just like the original series, is about the police officer Walker returning after a secret mission to Austin, Texas. He realizes that his job is not over yet and continues to fight crime with his partner. He also has to raise his 2 children and investigate the mysterious death of his wife.

What remakes of famous movies have you seen? Have you ever seen something that was better than the original?