Sequels to every one of my childhood movies, please. That’s all I ask.

The Eighties. It was only ten years of movies, but we are now working on THIRTY years of sequels. And that is awesome.

What’s not on the list, but should be? Beetlejuice, The Neverending Story, Goonies, Willow, Cocoon (another sequel), another Tron, and … let me know in the comments below!

Nerdatron has compiled the following list of 80s movies with sequels or reboots currently in production. Please click on the affiliate links (movie images) provided below to help support Nerdatron 🙂

Dune

Nerdatron is very excited about this one. Though hated by many, the original Dune (1984) directed by David Lynch was pretty amazing. The other versions by the SyFy Channel were might have been a bit more popular, but not quite feature film caliber.

Long story, short: It’s time somebody took another crack at the story!

  

The big news here is that a director has been named: Denis Villeneuve. Why is this MKUltra-exciting? Because Villneuve recently directed Blade Runner 2049. He’s definitely proven that he can reverently handle the sacred cows of the science-fiction canon. Nerdatron cannot wait to see how he re-creates the Dune universe!

Villeneuve is already showing he understands the complexities of Frank Herbert’s novels. According to The Playlist, he recently said that “Dune will probably take two years to make…The goal is to make two films, maybe more.” Thank the God Emperor of Dune!

Not only that …

… The Kwisatz Haderach!

An actor has been announced who will likely play Paul Atreides, the son of the slain Duke Leto Atreides who becomes the Messiah of Arrakis. The actor? Timothee Chalamet, whose best known acting credit is Call Me by Your Name.

Escape from New York (1981) – Escape from L.A. (1996)

Snake Plissken returns!

  

Horror master John Carpenter directed and co-wrote the original Escape from New York released in 1981. It has been called a gritty, sort of twisted 1981 ode to a city which Carpenter hated. Set in the then-future of 1997, New York has become a giant, maximum-security prison. Soldier-turned-criminal-turned-whatever Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is called on to rescue the President (Donald Pleasence) after Air Force One crashes in Manhattan.

Robert Rodriguez, who directed From Dusk Till Dawn, is set to helm the reboot. Also, John Carpenter is set to return as “an” executive director.

Robert Rodriguez made his name with the “Mexico trilogy” which followed the character of El Mariachi played by Antonio Banderas. He later co-directed the adaptation of the ultraviolent graphic novel Sin City and its sequel A Dame to Kill For.

After Escape from L.A. bombed, the planned third installment of the trilogy, Escape from Earth, was scrapped. Why did it bomb? Despite being somewhat popular today, the movie’s oddities didn’t play well. Kurt Russell hang-gliding into Disneyland firing a machine gun. At one point, he’s chasing a car riding a surfboard.

Big Trouble in Little China

Speaking of John Carpenter and Kurt Russell …!

Kurt Russell has apparently given his blessing and wished the project good luck. Does that mean he’ll be reprising his role as Jack Burton? Donning again his tank top (above)? Nope, but hopefully a cameo!

Who is the new Jack Burton? None other than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson! Ashley Miller is set to write the screenplay. You may know him from X-Men: First Class or Thor, which he also worked on with his co-writer Zack Stentz. 

Dwayne Johnson has said he wants John Carpenter involved, though. Because, duh.

He-Man & The Masters of the Universe

By the Power of Grayskull! … a reboot!

What’s not to like? Dolph Lundgren, aka Drago from Rocky IV, as He-Man. Perfect casting choice, if you can’t afford Arnold Schwarzenegger (obviously).  Also, Courtney Cox!

Coming Soon has confirmed a Sony Pictures release date of December 18, 2019. However, IMDB still has very little information about the upcoming movie. No actors have been associated with the film … yet. The Nee Brothers have been pegged as co-directors, though. You may know them from Band of Robbers, a retelling and mash-up of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

He-Man began as a line of toys released in 1982 by Mattel. It then spawned a namesake and glorious animated series in 1983 and later the She-Ra: Princess of Power series.

Did you know that He-Man 2 already happened? Well … sort of. Den of Geek explains how Masters of the Universe 2 and a Spider-Man movie actually became Cyborg, the ’80s Jean Claude Van Damme action flick.

Maximum Overdrive (1986) – Michael Bay to Make Sequel!

Stephen King wrote this one for the big-screen and directed it. It was an expansion of his short story “Trucks” which appeared in Night Shift, King’s first collection of short stories. Canada actually also made a movie based off “Trucks” called … Trucks. “U-Turn, U-Die!”

Widely panned and possibly even career-ending for some actors, even King was loathe to return to the director’s chair. Nevertheless, the film has spawned a cult following.

What’s not to like? This movie is a creative treasure trove for every possible way a machine could turn on a human. There’s the little league coach getting mowed down by the soda machine-turned-cannon. There’s multiple incidences of death by Walkman. Rabid arcade games. Not to mention, all the trucks getting crazy.

Not to mention … AC/DC made the soundtrack! That’s possibly even better than Queen’s “Princes of the Universe” soundtrack for Highlander.

So why wouldn’t we revisit this classic?

And who better to make a movie about 1980s trucks-turning-into-robots and then misbehaving? Michael Bay!

According to TheGeekNerdom:

Now, whether you wanted this sequel or not Michael Bay’s production house “Platinum Dunes” has struck a deal with Stephen to share the rights. Michael intends to helm the sequel, and he plans to create a movie-verse of 80’s horror monsters. It will not be a reboot, he is going to continue the story from the original film. Stephen King has penned the script. Stephen is hell-bent on getting some of the original cast back, but most of the actors from source film have either passed away, or they have retired from acting.

According to reports, Michael’s production team already has a cast list, and they are currently in talks with the actors to work on the dates. Platinum Dunes wants to release this movie around early or mid-2019.

Alien Nation

According to Den of Geek, a series of new Alien Nation movies is in the planning stages at 20th Century Fox:

The original 1988 movie starred James Caan and Mandy Patinkin, and the remake has attracted the interest of Iron Man writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. They’re working on a draft of a screenplay, and Fox apparently has Midnight Special and Mud director Jeff Nichols lined up to direct.

Other Reboots and Planned Sequels in the Works:

• Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair … getting a whole new cast
• Clue
• Conan
• Dungeons and Dragons
• Explorers
• Firestarter
• Flight of the Navigator
• The Fly
• Friday the 13th
• Hellboy 3
• Hellraiser … gulp.
• Highlander reboot … with a new actor already assigned to play the Kurgan, wow
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers
• League of Extraordinary Gentleman … probably no Sean Connery, though
• Little Shop of Horrors
• Logan’s Run
• The Matrix … but without the Wachowskis?
• Men in Black
• Mortal Kombat
• Pet Semetary … more kids with scalpels, great.
• Predator
• Rambo … but without the Italian Stallion 😦
• Red Sonja
• Short Circuit … Johnny 5 is back!
• Stargate
• Timecop
• Tomb Raider
• Toxic Avenger … why?
• WarGames … wowzers
• Weird Science

Check here for even more.

Know of Any Other Reboots About to Happen?

Please let Nerdatron know in the comments below! Also, remember to share this post everywhere … you never know when it could save a life (of an un-rebooted movie).