In an era where they seem to be announced every other day, remakes are rarely greeted with celebration. Now add the idea of re-imagining an Oscar-nominated entry in John Carpenter's canon from the director of the Night At The Museum films and we can only imagine the cacophony. Still, here we are: Shawn Levy wants a crack at Starman.
The 1980 original, which saw Jeff Bridges as an alien who arrives on Earth, takes the form of a widow's (Karen Allen) deceased husband and promptly goes on the run from government forces with her as they slowly fall in love, is still seen as a wonderful sci-fi romance, It's also something of a change of pace for Carpenter, who was best known for action and horror films.
This could also be a chance for Levy to show he's got chops to make something outside of his usual wheelhouse, and he has Michael Douglas – who produced Carpenter's film – ready to shepherd this one. One worrying aspect: the current script is from Arash Amel, who wrote the lambasted Grace Of Monaco. But, as always, we'd caution that the writer isn't the whole film.
This one might depend on the casting of the leads, but all of that is for the future; for now, it'll have to overcome the wave of skepticism that is sure to greet the idea...