UPDATE: April Fools! As Edgar Wright himself pointed out, a Holland-starring Ferris Bueller isn’t happening. But would it actually be an awesome way to reboot the classic?
The Ferris Bueller’s Day Off reboot is finally moving forward with director Edgar Wright and Tom Holland. Rumors of returning to the world of Bueller first started back in 2011 when a script featuring Ferris and his grown friends was reportedly under consideration, but nothing ever developed from it, and Matthew Broderick himself may have actually been the one to shoot it down. It wasn’t until the past couple years that the movie started getting attention again, getting a number of spoofs from the post-credits scene of Deadpool to more sequel chatter that turned out to be a Superbowl commercial for Honda, Spider-Man: Homecoming included a big homage to the foot chase scene, and Domino’s pizza outright recreated it with Stranger Things’ Joe Keery (Steve Harrington) to advertise their easy ordering system.
It’s undeniable the 80s classic has staying power as one of the all-time classic movies, which is possibly why it went untouched for so long, but now THR is reporting that a new remake screenplay has captured the eye of Edgar Wright, and Paramount has given the project a green light with Tom Holland attached to play the titular character. The title of the screenplay is “#SaveFerris,” but that may not stick until it finally lands in theaters, and it’s unclear when that will be since there’s no release date established yet. Tom Holland is becoming a big star with a couple of busy years in front of him with numerous Marvel commitments and the Uncharted movie, so his availability is expected to dictate production. Edgar Wright also hopes to make Baby Driver 2, but without a script, there’s still no timetable there.
According to the report, Paramount’s hesitance to even consider a remake began to erode after the previously mentioned homages and parodies saw an enthusiastic reception, but the true tipping point was the success of Spider-Man: Homecoming, where Tom Holland was a key ingredient to recreating the classic John Hughes tone. Coming off of Baby Driver (which maybe not so ironically includes its own iconic foot chase), Edgar Wright had just the kind of credibility the studio needed to ease any concerns over giving Bueller a fresh spin for a millennial audience.
A lot has changed since the first movie, and the explosion of just cell phones and the internet would drastically alter the way the plot of the original plays out. Ferris’ elaborate schemes might involve more photoshop and digital voice masking, while the chatter between kids at school and rumors about Ferris’ well-being would grow more via Twitter or Snapchat than through paper fliers or the “Save Ferris” water tower. It’s not hard to imagine the screenplay’s title, “#SaveFerris,” slowly becoming a global trending topic throughout the movie (maybe even in a Simpsons ‘Radio Bart’ fashion). Egar Wright’s poppy style, especially as seen in something like Scott Pilgrim vs the World will really come in handy when it comes to visually communicating the social media chatter as the day progresses.
The most surprising part (outside of the news itself) is that the studio decided to completely reboot instead of moving forward with a sequel as originally rumored. THR’s report does indicate that it’s a priority for Paramount and Wright for the remake to “honor the spirit” of the original Bueller, which may include small parts for the original cast as teachers or parents. This obviously leaves the possibility open for the movie to be a “Ferris Bueller Jr.” situation, but fans shouldn’t get their hopes up. The best case scenario would see Alan Ruck (Cameron Frye) filling a similar role as Ben Stein in the original. Although it would be great to see something like Charlie Sheen ironically playing a cop, or even principal Rooney (although they may want to veer clear of controversial actors for that particular role).
With the number of remakes, reboots, soft reboots, revivals, interquels, prequels, and delayed sequels to classic properties being green-lit each year, it was only a matter of time before classics like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off got their number called, and the trend can only be expected to continue. Who knows, maybe this time next year we’ll be talking about recasting Marty McFly or getting news about a Princess Bride sequel.
Next: What Could Baby Driver Reveal About Edgar Wright’s Cancelled Ant-Man?
Source: THR
