A remake of the seminal 1976 sci-fi filmLogan’s Runhas been in the works for quite some time. It was initially set up as a directing vehicle forNicholas Winding Refn(which in hindsight seems kind of crazy) with hisDrivestarRyan Goslingin the lead, but the two subsequently fell off the project and Warner Bros. continued trying to find an “in” with the material. That arrived this summer, whenX-Men,Fantastic Four, andStar Warswriter/producer extraordinaireSimon Kinbergcame onboardto pen the story and treatment for the remake, bringing the project much closer to becoming a reality.
The original film, which has served as the foundation for countless sci-fi stories ever since, revolved around a dystopian society in which citizens are killed once they reach the age of 30 in order to control overpopulation. That premise in and of itself sounds mighty fitting for the current blockbuster/franchise landscape, and when Steve recently spoke with Kinberg during a lengthy interview, the producer revealed that Warner Bros. envisions the property as the beginning of a lucrative franchise:
“We are talking to directors for that movie [right now]… It definitely is [a priority for the studio]. It’s something that potentially is theirHunger Gameskind of franchise that is about a younger audience for a younger audience with a big idea. AndLogan’s Run, as you know, is the granddaddy ofMaze RunnerandHunger Gamesand so many of these books and movies now. So yeah, they’re seeing it as a potentially really big franchise.”
Steve subsequently asked Kinberg if the knowledge that this is intended to be a franchise impacts the specific story that he’s crafting for the remake:
“I mean it’s a little bit like what I was saying about theX-Menmovies. There is some thought about what the future films would be and where you could take Logan in future movies, but the focus is on ‘Make a great movie.’ It was ‘Let’s make one great movie that people fall in love with but be prepared that if they do, we could make future films and what would they look like and where would you go again with the character in the next film?’
While one could easily see Warner Bros. simply taking the bare bones of the original film and creating some kind ofHunger Games/Divergent/Maze Runnermash-up, Kinberg says the story he’s put together maintains quite a bit from the original:
“There’s a lot from the original movie. I love the original movie and I think the storytelling in the original movie is pretty wonderful. The set up is great, I think there’s a lot of world creation that’s pretty awesome as well, though ultimately that’ll be the director’s domain. But yeah there’s a lot from the original film in it, and then there’s a lot of—I guess I would call it reinterpretation from the original film rather than just a whole scale recreation.”
With Warner Bros. now out to directors, and withThe Hunger Gamescoming to an end and leaving a vacuum in Hollywood when it comes to mega teen-centric sci-fi franchises, one imagines this thing could really start to heat up in the coming months, so it’s possible we could see some significant movement soon.
WhileLogan’s Runis a property that, like most, doesn’tneeda remake, it makes more sense to cut out the middle man and go straight toLogan’s Runrather than adapting or creating yet anotherLogan’s Run-esque sci-fi property. Moreover, one could easily envision an updated version of that story working incredibly well, so I’m quite curious to see this thing come together.
If you missed any of our previous stories from Steve’s interview with Kinberg, click the links below:
