Hollywood’s reboot obsession has officially gone aquatic. The latest childhood memory to be hauled back for the modern era is “Free Willy,” with Warner Bros. and the Russo brothers’ AGBO teaming up for this unnecessary remake.
After exhausting superheroes, sequels, prequels, legacy sequels, and reboots of things nobody asked to see rebooted, Warner Bros. had to go deep into the well to find an untouched IP. I bet this remake will feature a CGI whale, Marvel-style humor, and no Michael Jackson song.
The original “Free Willy,” released in 1993, was a simple story about a lonely kid and a captive orca finding freedom, complete with a soaring finale and Michael Jackson singing over all of it. This new version, written by Mary-Margaret Kunze and Jade Halley Bartlett, is being described as a “reimagining” — a word studios now prefer because “reboot” and “remake” have become terms increasingly associated with audience skepticism.
Sequels, reboots, and remakes — sometimes it feels like that’s all Hollywood knows how to make anymore. It’s as if there isn’t a single cell of originality left in the brains of studio executives. The most frustrating part is that there are countless great original scripts sitting on shelves, waiting for someone to take a chance on them.