Earlier this week, We Got This Covered received a production document from a source listing many classic films that are in various stages of development. One of the most exciting prospects was a long overdue remake of The Warriors, but there’s also a classic 1990’s movie that seems set to get the same treatment: Speed.
Jan de Bont’s 1994 action film was a hit at the box office and gave us the breakout role of Sandra Bullock. If you haven’t seen the movie (you should, because it’s great), it’s about a bus that cannot go below 50 miles per hour or it’ll explode. It’s one of those simple concepts that just works surprisingly well.
But how might a contemporary remake of Speed look? Well, they tried to replicate the formula in Speed 2: Cruise Control. That film swapped out the bus for a cruise ship, and Keanu Reeves for Jason Patric, both of which were downgrades in terms of excitement. There’s a decent chance that a remake could stick with the iconic bus, but perhaps if they wanted to go with the public transport theme they could opt for a train? After all, what happens when it reaches the end of the tracks?
Interestingly, Keanu Reeves spoke about a potential Speed 3 earlier this year. While doing the John Wick 3 press tour, he mentioned that he’d been approached to do the project but wasn’t interested in making a comeback, jokingly saying:
“We’ll be 65! I’m driving (or) Annie’s driving because I don’t remember where I am… ‘Where are we going? I want ice cream!'”
In the right hands and with a couple that can match the romantic chemistry between Reeves and Bullock (and with a villain as entertaining as Dennis Hopper), a new Speed could be a great night out at the cinema. And, y’know, despite the apparently never-ending superhero renaissance, I still enjoy a straightforward, well-made action movie.
