At the start of the year, Box Office Mojo reported that 2011 would be a record one for Hollywood’s output of sequels, with 27 such films earning (or, in any case, receiving) nationwide release—three more than the previous record set in 2003 and eight more than last year. As far as we can tell, 2011 will also prove to be the first year in history that the seven top-grossing films at the box office were all sequels.
Two years ago, Slate’s Josh Levin noted for Brow Beat the absurd extent to which sequels, prequels, reboots, and adaptations dominate Hollywood by seeding a list of real-life sequels and adaptations with a couple of made-up ones. Because we had so much fun last time around—and because the week before Christmas is one of the slowest news weeks of the year—we’ve decided to revive the list.
Below are ten sequels, reboots, and adaptations scheduled for release in 2012, along with two fake ones. Try to guess which ones are the phonies. We’ll post the correct answer on our Facebook page.
Then join in the fun by inventing your own made-up 2012 reboots and posting them on Twitter with the hashtag #FakeReboots—or by simply posting them here in the comments. We’ll retweet our favorites on the Slate Twitter feed.
Here is the list:
- Thor and Tyra from Friday Night Lights star in a remake of Red Dawn
- Johnny Depp, Jonah Hill, and Ice Cube bring you a 21st-century 21 Jump Street
- Winona Ryder stars in Tim Burton’s reboot of 1984’s Frankenweenie
- Larry, Moe, and Curly are joined by Snooki in The Three Stooges
- Tom Cruise reprises his classic role as Cole Trickle in a long-awaited sequel to Days of Thunder
- Sylvester Stallone’s 1995 adaptation of the comic book Judge Dredd gets a reboot starring Bones from Star Trek
- Beyonce returns to the silver screen alongside Ryan Gosling in a new Dick Tracy; Patton Oswalt is Pruneface
- The star of Twilight is Snow White, Charlize Theron is the Evil Queen, and Thor is some kind of huntsman in Snow White & the Huntsman
- The guy who used to be Spider-Man is Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby, with Leo DiCaprio in the title role
- Wolverine is Jean Valjean and Russell Crowe is inspector Javert in Les Misérables
- G.I. Joe 2
- Step Up 4
