How many years should pass before a reboot?

How long does it actually take for a single concept—whether it’s a superhero like Spiderman or Superman, or a gritty franchise like Conan, Robocop, or Terminator—to go from square one back to the big screen?

I mean, enough time to pass to justify recycling the original movie entirely, just with better CGI and some younger actors?

If you ask me, four years max.

It’s simple. We used to have those specific movies you'd catch in theaters or on rental tapes, or those TV shows playing on CNN or whatever the equivalent station is here in America.

Back in the day, things were slightly better with cable in the US, but it wasn't anything like what we have now.

Nowadays, the entire world is basically sitting in your pocket thanks to the internet. Every movie and series ever made is right there at your fingertips.

And that's where the issue starts.
We used to get maybe two or three comedy shows a week; now, you can binge two or three full seasons of something in a single week.
Back then, you couldn't even dream of watching an obscure flick older than twenty years unless it popped up on broadcast TV. Now, you can find anything from Netflix to other platforms that are huge across America.

But that creates a real problem.
With this much content being shoved down our throats, there's zero room left for anyone to actually remember anything.

I’m convinced that nobody who's fifteen today even knows there was a Spiderman before Garfield, or even who Tobey Maguire is.

Studios can basically just churn out reboots of mediocre movies every four years with a fresh cast, and people will flock to the theaters without even realizing a version of that movie existed before them.

Or am I totally off base?

Richard Wilson4 said:I’m pretty sure nobody turning 15 today even realizes there was a Spiderman before Garfield, or what Tobey Maguire’s deal is.

Or am I totally wrong?

If you ask me, that theory doesn't hold water. I mean, I shouldn't even be expected to know any of the James Bond actors prior to Pierce Brosnan, right?

Especially when we're talking about massive literary icons and comic book legends—there's just no way people aren't aware of the older movies.

And yeah... the new Spiderman definitely beats the old one.

If you ask me, I’d be looking at a minimum of fifty years, though honestly, we could easily be talking about a full century.

I honestly feel like a reboot should only happen if technology has advanced enough to actually justify a redo, or if the original was just a great idea trapped in a poorly made movie. Personally, I’d only ever consider remaking action flicks—the kind that live and die by their choreography, visual spectacle, and pure kinetic energy. As for dramas, if the original was solid, you should just leave it alone. It really all comes down to the specific movie in question.

Remaking heavy hitters like Apocalypse Now or Citizen Kane would be pointless, and frankly, it's a bad move for sci-fi or action classics like Alien, Predator, or Mad Max. Some films are just perfect exactly as they are; you can't just manufacture that specific atmosphere again. Even if you have better visuals or flashy new effects, it doesn't mean much if the soul isn't there, and most of those attempts end up being mediocre at best.

At the end of the day, I'm generally against reboots because, for me, the story is everything. If I've already experienced the narrative, I don't see the point in watching it again just to see different actors or shinier CGI.

The Constitution shouldn't allow for this kind of thing! 🙂
If necessary, we take it to a national referendum! 🧐

electricbison21 said:And yeah... the new Spider-Man is definitely better than the old one.

Sure, buddy—say whatever you want and see if you survive the fallout. 🙏

Jeffrey Brown3 said:He says it and lives to tell the tale. 🙏

It’s just better. That stuff with Tobey was total garbage. Honestly.

Hand on heart, we aren't talking about groundbreaking, original cinema here in any scenario. :ne znam: What part of that is hard to grasp?

electricbison21 said:It’s just better. That stuff with Tobey was total garbage. Seriously.

Look, let's be real—we aren't talking about groundbreaking, totally original movies here. Not even close. :ne znam: I don't know what part of that is so hard to wrap your head around.

Not trying to derail, but the new Spider-Man is trash. To me, Tobey is the only one who matters.

Richard Wilson4 said:Not trying to derail things, but the new Spider-Man is terrible. For him, Tobey is the only real deal.

The old Spider-Man was awful, and honestly, Tobey is a subpar actor.

So, what now? Are we actually going to respect different opinions here? 😬

I haven't heard a single word about a new Spider-Man being in the works, nor have I seen anything suggesting Tobey isn't involved somewhere.🤣

Jeffrey Brown3 said:He said his piece and moved on. 🙏

Well, I guess I would have written you a similar post if you had argued the opposite point... I suppose people just see things differently sometimes, and maybe we all just need to accept that. Personally, I feel like the characterization is one of the best parts of the new Spider-Man 🙂 along with the character himself, those web shooters, and all that stuff...
Sorry for going off-topic, but regarding the rating, I'd say it probably shouldn't be lower than PG-13. 😁

Paul Anderson7 said:In my opinion, you should only do a reboot if technology has advanced enough to actually make a remake worthwhile, or if the original was just a bad execution of a great idea. I’d also only consider remaking action flicks that rely heavily on visual spectacle and stunt work. Dramas should be left alone if the original was solid. It really all depends on the movie itself.

Remaking dramas like Apocalypse Now or Citizen Kane makes absolutely zero sense, and honestly, the same goes for sci-fi/action classics like Alien, Predator, or Mad Max. Some movies are absolute masterpieces exactly as they are, and you should never touch them because you can't recreate that specific atmosphere, and even if you have better special effects, it doesn't mean much—most of those new versions would just end up being total garbage.

Basically, I'm against reboots because for me, the story is everything, and if I've already seen the story, I don't need to sit through it again just with different actors and shiny new effects.

I totally agree; generally speaking, reboots should be banned and original films shouldn't be messed with at all. But maybe just for that top-tier AAA group, like that recent Terminator mess we're seeing now.

No amount of fancy CGI or any other goddamn thing in the future is ever going to be able to replace the soul of a movie.

That said, I do think there are plenty of franchises that were poorly made back in the day due to technical limitations—you know, crappy lighting, bad gear, old cameras—and then there are films that are just bad because nobody put in any actual effort, like lazy writing, terrible directing, or subpar acting.

For those kinds of movies that lack any real "cinematic value," I could see the argument for a reboot.

Yeah, but that’s where the whole problem starts, because who gets to decide that? There are movies out there so incredibly bad that they've somehow become part of "film culture." You'll definitely have a bunch of mediocre movies with cult followings that would fight tooth and nail against any changes.

And anyway, we should really be asking why we bother rebooting old stuff instead of just making new movies, especially since there are countless books just sitting there waiting to be turned into films.

If I had to suggest a reboot—if you can even call those things reboots, because I refuse to recognize them—it would be Dragon Ball and Dylan Dog.

Imagine some hack decides they need to reboot an entire universe instead of just one movie—kind of like what Joe Abrams does... 😲
And then they actually go ahead and mess it up...

Nicholas Nguyen said:I haven't the slightest clue whether there's a new Spider-Man in the works, nor do I know if Tobey is actually set to reprise his role.🤣

Good grief, I was completely in the dark about that too.

Aaron Barrett79 said:And what happens when some hack decides they need to reboot an entire cinematic universe instead of just one single movie, like how J. J. Abrams tends to do? And then, naturally, they just mess it all up. 😲

It’s pretty bad, honestly. He’s basically my number one nemesis in the film industry.

If a movie is terrible, then sure, go ahead and reboot it tomorrow if you want. But for the absolute classics, like 🙏 "Ben-Hur," leave them alone. Actually, wait... I just realized "Ben-Hur" is a reboot itself! 😬

Aaron Barrett79 said:Just wait until some hack decides to reboot an entire cinematic universe instead of just one movie, kind of like how Joe Abrams does. And then they still manage to mess it up big time. 😲

Honestly, J. J. Abrams is basically just Michael Bay with a slightly better reputation, man!

Honestly, I think it’s way better if they just pick up right where the movie left off, introducing some fresh characters and a brand-new storyline, rather than just rebooting the whole thing from scratch. That way, we actually get something new and interesting to watch instead of the same old loop.

Taylor Vaughn8 said:They should just pick up right where the last movie left off and introduce some fresh characters and a new plot instead of constantly rebooting everything from scratch; at least then we might actually see something interesting for once.

That logic only works if the original movie wasn't total garbage to begin with, because sometimes you just have to scrap the whole mess and start over from zero.
But honestly, the biggest issue is the audience, because until people stop being mindless sheep, we aren't getting any decent cinema. As long as everyone keeps flocking to watch absolute trash like Transformers and other mindless crap while ignoring films that actually have substance, Hollywood is just going to keep churning out whatever makes the most money.

Richard Wilson4 said:Man, J.J. Abrams is basically just Michael Bay with a better reputation!

I honestly don't get what everyone's deal is with Michael Bay.

Armageddon, Hrid, Bad Boys, Transformers—they're all great movies for just chilling out and unwinding. I love them! Same goes for Roland Emmerich; most of his stuff is fantastic.🤷