Tim Burton has typically not been one for sequels, but he may be about to change his tune with Beetlejuice 2, which is believed to be back in development again. He also might be involved in a remake of A Nightmare Before Christmas for Disney. But the good news doesn’t end there, as a Mars Attacks! remake is also being considered and the director could return for that one, too.
Sources close to WGTC – the same ones who told us Lethal Weapon 5 is moving forward with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, and that Paramount is rebooting Transformers, both of which ended up being right – say that Warner Bros. has interest in remaking the 1996 sci-fi comedy movie and they’d like Burton to get behind the camera. Nothing’s official as yet, mind you, but they certainly want him back.
From what we’re told, this would be a “modern day remake” of the original, but the details we’ve been given end there. And while there’s always the chance that it ultimately will fail to materialize, our sources say the studio is very keen to do more with the property. And given they’re the same sources who also told us a third National Treasure movie was in development months before it was announced, we’ve no reason to doubt them.
Of course, out of all the projects in Burton’s filmography, Mars Attacks! might seem like a strange one to choose to remake. It didn’t do terribly well at the box office and it’s not as iconic as, say, Edward Scissorhands. However, it makes a lot more sense when you consider that it was based on an existing franchise (a popular trading card series).
It’s also clear that there’s still a lot of affection for the original film out there. Just this week, in fact, Walmart dropped an ad during the Super Bowl that featured many of cinema’s most famous aliens and sci-fi characters, and the Martians from Mars Attacks! were among them. Fans of the movie swarmed onto social media afterwards to rave about their cameo and their love for the under-appreciated flick.
But tell us, would you be interested in a Mars Attacks! remake? And could it match the first one? Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments section down below. Or, to translate that into Martian: Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack!
