Bring It Back: ’80s Film Adaptations Fans Want [Poll]

Whether a movie, TV show or game, fans have not forgotten ’80s favorites like “Manimal,” “The Equalizer,” “An American Werewolf in London” and more. With the Michael Bay directed adaptation of the children’s cartoon Transformers, many others in Hollywood are following suit, leaving fans wondering what will be the next remake.

Above Image: Manimal (1983) Jonathon Chase (Simon MacCorkindale)

You Got the Green Light

Despite repeated attempts by Paramount to adapt the famous ’80s game “Spy Hunter” to a movie, it has not been done. However, the director of Zombieland, Ruben Fleischer, is slated to direct the latest adaptation under Warner Brothers, who has thrown away the old script and is working on another. The game follows Alex Decker, who is tricked to hunt down rouge agents and destroy enemy vehicles without civilian casualties. There are rumors that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson may play the lead.

Remember the super cop show of the ’80s “The Equalizer?” Denzel Washington has agreed to play the lead for this rendition. Colombia Pictures is set to release the adaptation April 11, 2014. The series original starred Edward Woodward as Robert McCall, a secret agent with a past and a thirst for vigilante justice. Woodward played the lead from 1985-1989.

In the Works

“Manimal” was a popular 1980s series that ran for a short time in 1983 that is making the jump to the big screen. Sony Pictures Animation is picking up the rights to this one, and it is being touted as a live action, CG hybrid film, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The main character, Dr. Jonathan Chase, is a doctor who morphs into other animals to fight crime. The show was trashed when it aired, mostly because it aired opposite the extremely popular series “Dallas.” The show was probably a little much for most audiences at the time. Chase turned into a black panther in every episode and was always saying things like “I was a real pussycat.” There is no word yet on an expected air date from Sony.

Other Possibilities

Not from the ’80s but still a great idea for an adaptation, The 1968 movie “Barbarella” was slated to be created with lead actor Anne Hathaway. However, Hathaway’s agents are officially stating that she is not attached to the movie quite yet. This has been in the works for some time, in fact, since 2010. There has not been any word on when the film is going into production as directors and actors keep dropping out.

The animated series Centurions ran from 1985-1987 and featured comic book characters created by Jack Kirby and Gil Kane. The show was about three military men, with a villain, and of course the standard save-the-world-from-evil premise. Fans of this ’80s show are petitioning filmmakers to make this into a show with famed “Transformers” director Bay, according to Collider.com. If filmmaker Bay ever decided to do another ’80s remake, this would be the one.

Michelle Cook contributed to this post. Michelle is a freelance journalist who covers pop culture, including movies and TV shows. Her favorite genre is superhero movies.

What 80s film adaptation would you like to see?

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