Steven Spielberg has been popping up all over the place lately as he makes the rounds for his Cold War film "Bridge of Spies" due in theaters later this year. In addition, the upcoming deal with Universal to assume distribution and financing of DreamWorks film projects has put the famed directly firmly back into the spotlight. Disney announced Wednesday that they would be cutting ties with the production company and this new partnership could lead to some massive undertakings.
"[Spielberg] also is key on potential reboots of other Universal franchises such as 'Jaws' and 'Back to the Future,'" The Hollywood Reporter notes.
Universal has been rumored for years to be toying with the idea of rebooting two of its most iconic franchises of all time. However, "Back to the Future" director Robert Zemeckis pumped the brakes on any potential reboots a few months ago.
"That can't happen until both Bob [Gale] and I are dead, and then I'm sure they'll do it, unless there's a way our estates can stop it," Zemeckis told The Telegraph of a remake. "I mean, to me, that's outrageous. Especially since it's a good movie. It's like saying 'Let's remake Citizen Kane. Who are we going to get to play Kane?' What folly, what insanity is that? Why would anyone do that?"
Zemeckis and Gale's stake in the property make it virtually impossible for new films in the series to be developed at the moment. So could Spielberg bring back the famous DeLorean in another format? An animated series would allow both Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd to return with very little fuss and muss.
As for the shark, Universal followed up Spielberg's blockbuster with three critically panned sequels after Spielberg refused to dive back into those waters. Now, Warner bros. is developing their own giant shark film "Meg" with Eli Roth attached to direct while Sony will tackle "In the Deep." The finned menaces appear to be making a comeback in a big way.
Based on recent comments, it's seem fair to say that one genre Spielberg will not be touching is superheroes.
"We were around when the Western died and there will be a time when the superhero movie goes the way of the Western," Spielberg told the Associated Press. "It doesn't mean there won't be another occasion where the Western comes back and the superhero movie someday returns. Of course, right now the superhero movie is alive and thriving. I'm only saying that these cycles have a finite time in popular culture. There will come a day when the mythological stories are supplanted by some other genre that possibly some young filmmaker is just thinking about discovering for all of us."
