“ What I did was thoroughgoing . And all you ’re go to do is diminish that perfection by letting someone else do it . "
When a new remake, reboot, or sequel comes out, we usually hear immediately from fans and critics comparing it to the original source material. But what about the people who were actually involved in making the originals? Well, here are 14 actors who had something to say about their movie or TV show getting revived.
1.In 2005,Tim Burtonreleased his adaptation of the 1964 Roald Dahl novelCharlie and the Chocolate FactorystarringJohnny Depp. Though not a remake of 1971’sWillyWonka& the Chocolate FactorystarringGene Wilder, it’s hard not to compare the two films.
Before the ‘05 version’s release, Wildercalledthe movie a cash grab, and years later, in 2013, hesaidof Burton’s film, “I think it’s an insult. To do that with Johnny Depp, who I think is a good actor and I like him, but I don’t care for that director. He’s a talented man, but I don’t care for him for doing stuff like he did.”
2.The 2019Charlie’s Angelsserved as a continuation of both the ’70s TV show and the early ’00s films, which starred Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, and Cameron Diaz as the titular angels.
Liuvoiced her supportfor the Barrymore-produced reboot, saying, “To me, I think it’s very exciting. It’s likeSherlock Holmes…it is something that people keep coming back to, and they’re drawn to. That’s something that needs to be explored, and if it needs to be explored on all different levels, then it should be.”
3.In 2017, Universal releasedThe Mummystarring Tom Cruise, an attempt at rebooting the late ’90s early ’00s Brendan Fraser-led franchise (the first installment of which is, in fact, a remake of a 1932 film of the same name).
When Cruise’s movie famouslyflopped, Fraser gave insight into why he thought the new film just didn’t work. Hesaid, “It is hard to make that movie. The ingredient that we had going for ourMummy, which I didn’t see in that film, was fun. That was what was lacking in that incarnation. It was too much of a straight-ahead horror movie.The Mummyshould be a thrill ride, but not terrifying and scary…I know how difficult it is to pull it off. I tried to do it three times.”
4.In 2017, Patty Jenkins’Wonder Womanwas released, starring Gal Gadot. The role was famously played by Lynda Carter in the late ’70s TV show of the same name.
AfterTitanicdirector James Cameroncalledthe 2017 version ofWonder Woman"a step backwards” for women, Carter stepped in to defend the movie. She addressed Cameron on Facebook,stating, “You poor soul. Perhaps you do not understand the character. I most certainly do. Like all women — we are more than the sum of our parts. Your thuggish jabs at a brilliant director, Patty Jenkins, are ill-advised. This movie was spot on. Gal Gadot was great. I know, Mr. Cameron — because I have embodied this character for more than 40 years. So — STOP IT.”
5.In 2010, a remake of the 1984 slasherA Nightmare on Elm Streetwas released.
The new, and much darker version of the film was critically panned. Robert Englund, who played Freddy Krueger in the original movie (and all the sequels),calledthe remake “a little cold” and said that the “‘realist’ burn make-up…took a lot of the strength away from the character.” He also cited an issue with the film’s beginning, saying that since “we weren’t really given time to see the kids when they were normal, before they were frantic and haunted by Freddy,” it “made it harder to connect with them, harder to care what happened to them.”
6.The Will Smith-led sitcom,The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,ran from 1990-1996. In 2022, the show was reimagined asBel-Air, a drama series with a much more serious tone.
Tatyana Ali, who played Ashley inThe Fresh Prince,praisedthe series. She said, “I think it’s brilliant. Flipping it and making it a drama is so dope. I think that’s part of this lasting power of the sitcom — it was based in real stuff.”
7.In 1996, Eddie Murphy starred in a remake ofThe Nutty Professor. Jerry Lewis wrote, directed, and starred in the original, which was released in 1963.
Although LewispraisedMurphy, calling him “one of the five funniest men in the world,” he had an issue with the remake’s big fart scene. “When he had to do fart jokes, he lost me.” Lewis, who produced the film, added that he even gave the editor an ultimatum: get rid of the farts or they’d lose him “on a creative level.” Overall, Lewis said, “What I did was perfect. And all you’re going to do is diminish that perfection by letting someone else do it.”
8.In one of her first-ever movies, Drew Barrymore played the lead character Charlie McGee in the 1984 movieFirestarter. In 2022, the movie was remade starring Ryan Kiera Armstrong.
When ArmstrongappearedonThe Drew Barrymore Show, Barrymore told her, through tears, “I watched the movie. It’s so good. You’re so good in it.” She also told Armstrong how grateful she was to be able to share the role of Charlie McGee with her.
9.In 2018, the fourth iteration ofA Star Is Bornwas released, starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. The last version of the film to come out prior to the Lady Gaga one was released in 1976 and starred Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.
Streisandwas disappointedwith the 2018 remake, calling it the “wrong idea” and criticizing its supposed lack of originality. She had originally heard that the film was to star Beyoncé and Will Smith, which she thought was an “interesting” idea. “Really make it different again, different kind of music, integrated actors. I thought that was a great idea.” However, when the Gaga/Cooper version was released, she said, “I was surprised when I saw how alike it was to the version that I did in 1976.”
10.Adam West played Batman in the 1960s live-action TV series and the 1966 filmBatman: The Movie. From 1989 to 1997, actors Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, and George Clooney took their turns playing the role. Then in 2005, Christopher Nolan cast Christian Bale as the lead in what would be the first installment in hisDark KnightTrilogy.
In 2013, when asked about other actors who’ve played Batman, Westsaidthat at first, he felt like the character belonged to him but “quickly realized that they were doing their thing.” He specifically mentioned Christian Bale and called him “marvelous inThe Dark Knight.”
11.Melissa Joan Hart played Sabrina in the 1996 TV movieSabrina the Teenage Witchbased on the Archie Comics series, and then a few months later, reprised the role in a sitcom of the same name, which ran until 2003. In 2018, Netflix releasedChilling Adventures of Sabrina, a series that was based on a separate Archie series with a much darker tone.
Although Hartsaidshe “love[s] the fact that the character lives on” and thought it was “great [that] they are doing something very different,” she ultimately felt that the show didn’t “really appeal” to her. “My kids are a little too young for it, and I’m too old for it.”
12.Gossip Girl, which ran from 2007–2012, was rebooted by HBO Max in 2021.
Leighton Meester, who starred as Blair Waldorf in the original series,said of the reboot, “I’ve watched the new one. I do think it’s really awesome.” As for the new cast, she added, “You know, I’m happy for them. I feel like they’re doing a whole new thing…I feel really good sort of sitting back and leaving it to the kids, to the young, new generation. They’re doing so awesome.”
13.In 2021,And Just Like That…, a sequel series toSex and the Cityand a follow-up to the two theatrical films, was released.
After turning down a thirdSex and the Citymovie (which never went into production), Kim Cattrall, who played Samantha Jones in the original show, wasnot askedto reprise her role in the 2021 series. She felt that after the second movie, she was done with the character. Cattrall said she hadn’t watched the new series but found it “odd” that the show mentions Samantha and then has her text Carrie.
14.And finally, in the early aughts, Sam Raimi’sSpider-Mantrilogy was released, starring Tobey Maguire. Since then, both Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland have appeared in their ownSpider-Manfranchises.
In 2017, Kirsten Dunst, who played MJ in the original movies, was asked to share her thoughts on the upcoming-at-the-timeSpider-Man: Homecoming. Shesaid, “We made the best ones, so who cares? I’m like, ‘You make it all you want.'” Dunst continued on, “They’re just milking that cow for money. It’s so obvious. You know what I mean?”
