There has never been a time in modern cinema in which a film or franchise hasn’t been re-imagined for a new generation. Some franchises never seem to get a break from constantly being recycled back into the mainstream. A perfect example of this would be franchises like Batman or the James Bond movies. From television to film, it seems impossible for Hollywood to produce an original idea these days.
According to the New York Times, blockbuster features are in short supply for theater chains. Properties like the Halloween franchise and Top Gun served theaters well for the latter half of 2022, with Top Gun: Maverick sitting at number one in the year’s box office earnings globally. However, 2022 was a notable year for movie reboots, from Haddonfield slashers to Super Hornets in the sky, but was it completely a year of reboots?
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Reboots, Remakes, and Requels, Oh My!
Paramount Pictures
Currently trending in Hollywood is the notion that great films and franchises need a breath of fresh life to be rejuvenated into the modern era. Film in the age of reboots has had equally great wins and major losses in terms of box office success. Today, there are so many ways to introduce a reboot or a remake that the terminology can get a bit confusing. Sequels and prequels are pretty straight-forward, remaining to be described as the before or after of the film’s plot. However, “requels” differ in the sense that the film is directly revisiting an earlier plot, but isn’t a linear continuation to the original story.
A perfect example of a recent requel was Scream, which was released in January 2022, and saw the return of the franchise’s major characters as well as the introduction of some fresh faces. For fans of the franchise, Easter eggs were hidden throughout the film, but overall Scream 2022 can be viewed as a standalone film for new audiences. With the last installment to the franchise having been released over ten years prior, it was important to update the technology that Ghostface used throughout the film to fit into the modern era. Yet, Scream 2022 is very much a reboot of the popular horror franchise.
Superheroes and Slashers
Warner Bros. Pictures
Batman has been one of the most revisited superhero franchises over the last 50 years. Adam West, Michael Keaton, Ben Affleck, and Christian Bale have all masked up to defend Gotham City, and, in 2022, Robert Pattinson followed suit and became the newest face to the franchise in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. The film is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and received overall positive feedback, currently remaining in the top ten highest-grossing movies of the year. It is hard not to ask yourself if the release of the film was really necessary, especially with the last Batman films having ended not too long ago. Yet, the same can be said about the Spider-Man franchise that was rebooted after Sony sold the rights not long after the release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Superhero films almost always profit well at the box office, whether it be from reboots or spin-offs, and The Batman will see its sequel released in 2025. 2022 also saw the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Morbius, which are both original ideas that weren’t reboots of any other superhero films released prior. However, one animated space ranger had his very own featured released this year as one of the summer’s blockbuster films: Lightyear focused on Buzz (voiced by Chris Evans) and his journey to defeat Zurg. The animated feature is neither a sequel nor a prequel to the Toy Story franchise and stands as a reboot of a franchise character.
When conjuring the aspects of good and evil, it wasn’t only superheroes who received 2022’s reboot treatment. October’s release of Halloween Ends marked the final film in David Gordon Green’s trilogy. Despite the overall disappointment received by audiences, Halloween Ends had the right idea on how to continue the franchise, but just couldn’t execute it properly. While Michael Myers is seemingly put to rest for the time being, Ghostface will return to theaters in 2023 for Scream 6. Yet, Netflix’s 2022 reboot of Leatherface in Texas Chainsaw Massacre will not be seeing a revival anytime soon. Like the many sequels in The Texas Chainsaw franchise, 2022’s reboot ultimately flopped and was ranked number seven on What Culture’s list of worst horror movies of 2022.
Fighter Pilots and Firestarters
Top Gun is certainly not a film you’d think of when revisiting older movies that could or should have a sequel. However, Top Gun: Maverick is still sitting at number one on the highest-grossing films for the year, and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. Even with the release of James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water slowly creeping up the ladder, Maverick still has a killer chokehold on the global box office. The first film was released in 1986 and was relatively popular at the time, even having a Nintendo game based on the film. Out of all the films released in 2022, Top Gun: Maverick seems to be an audience favorite and the most successful by far. The notion as to why is simple. The film is reminiscent of what it takes to get audiences in theater seats and what it truly means to be a major blockbuster release.
Top Gun wasn’t the only 80s movie to get revisited this year. In May, released directly to Peacock and theaters, was a remake of Firestarter that even Zac Efron couldn’t keep burning. Although Stephen King revealed that he prefers the remake to the original, Firestarter was a retelling that didn’t need to happen and ultimately should have stayed in the 80s where it belongs. With a certified 10% score on Rotten Tomatoes, it is clear that the film sits with Texas Chainsaw Massacre as far as reboots go.
Despite the dismal appearance of the year’s release list, 2022 saw its fair share of original ideas across all genres. The year was kind the horror genre with Ti West’s X and Pearl being released, alongside Fresh, Nope, The Black Phone and Barbarian. In addition to superhero films, The Lost City saw the return of Sandra Bullock in a blockbuster released comedy, as well as David Harbour’s holiday film, Violent Night. So, was 2022 the year of reboots? That’s really up to the personal taste of the viewer.
