7 Movie & TV Show Reboots That Ended Up Being Better Than The Original
As the movie and television industry continues to adapt, reboot, and expand upon existing intellectual properties, there is an argument that all originality has been lost.
Thankfully, with a slew of original movies storming the Oscars earlier this year – like Marty Supreme and Sinners – and new flicks like Obsession smashing it at the box office, it looks like there is still hope for innovative and fresh storytelling after all.
That being said, sometimes, when done right, a reboot can add new layers and perspectives to an older movie or television show. These new iterations modernise the stories and can – on rare occasions – be even better than their source material.
It is important to realise that while many reboots like Jurassic World are fun, they will never come close to capturing the magic of the original. Some reboots, though, do manage to rival their predecessor, with a rogue few potentially surpassing their predecessors. With the landscape of reboots being very much akin to the good, the bad, and the ugly, here are some that stand out as being close to, if not better than their source.
During the ‘80s, Dynasty and Dallas were bitter rivals of the television world. Both shows followed the trials and high-camp tribulations of oil tycoon families. During the 2010s, each iconic show got a reboot, with Dynasty 2.0 the victor. Dallas relied too heavily on the continuation of the story from the original while, in contrast, Dynasty kept the characters and some plot lines from the original, but told its own compellingly kitsch story.
Created by the team behind The OC and Gossip Girl, this iteration placed eldest daughter Fallon Carrington into the spotlight as the series chronicled her mission to be the ultimate girl boss. Utterly addictive viewing for fans new and old, Dynasty proved that sometimes a little facelift is all a show needs to win over an audience again.
With countless rebrands of Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, and Mortal Kombat in existence, the video game movie might just be the most prominent subgenre when it comes to attempting a reboot. It is also the subgenre that struggles to get, not only a reboot, but an adaptation right, but one recent win in that department is The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
It feels slightly cruel to compare this glorious animated tale of plumbers Mario and Luigi to its live-action ‘90s counterpart. The two films are night and day across the board. Super Mario Bros. took a lot of liberties with the source material, whereas the newer version was more faithful and treated fans to a bounty of Easter eggs. As reboots go, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is an excellent example of how to do things right.
Released in 1978, the original run of Battlestar Galactica only lasted for a total of 21 episodes. The sci-fi series saw mankind travelling the universe to locate the mythic Earth after their space colony is attacked by the dastardly Cylons. Given the love of space stories during the ‘70s it is a surprise that the show didn’t get more time.
Others clearly thought the same and in 2004, Battlestar Galactica was resurrected for a modern audience. Now even more heavily focused on the military, this rebooted version of the show featured the added bonus of some kick-ass female characters on both sides of the war between man and Cylon. Running for 74 episodes and countless TV movies, Battlestar Galactica built upon the foundations of the original show, but brought everything bang up to date, and was never afraid to heap some emotional trauma onto its audience.
Like its Universal monster brethren, The Mummy has been rebooted time and time again, and while the less said about Tom Cruise’s attempt, the better, Stephen Sommers’ 1999 The Mummy is a truly iconic piece of pop culture.
This story had previously delivered a consistent slew of horror projects, but suddenly moved into the action arena with this effort. Even releasing at the same time as Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace couldn’t prevent it from being a blockbuster hit. The Mummy launched the careers of Rachel Weisz and Brendan Fraser into the stratosphere, and spawned a trilogy, with a fourth movie in the works now.
Doctor Who originally ran from 1963-1989 and had an entire generation hiding behind their sofas each week. Then, in 2005, Doctor Who regenerated. Having initially run for over 20 years, Doctor Who had become formulaic and tired, but the reboot injected new life into the adventures of the Time Lord.
It also spawned a newer, younger, and more rabid fanbase that pushed Doctor Who out of popular show territory into a full-fledged phenomenon, making household names out of every Doctor and Assistant that has graced the show since.
While the late, great David Lynch directed some genuine masterpieces, even he thought that his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel Dune was terrible. In fact, Lynch hated it so much he all but refused to accept that it existed. Seeing someone as talented as Lynch try and fail made others very nervous about the property… that was until Denis Villeneuve decided to brave a trip to Arrakis.
This reboot excelled everywhere that Lynch’s 1984 offering struggled, no doubt helped by not having to shoehorn the very dense source material into a singular film. Instead this Dune reboot covers only one part of the book, with Dune Part Two covering the rest, and a third film set to continue the story even further. It’s astounding from a technical point of view, features a stellar cast, and captures the essence of the story perfectly.
Godzilla began his on-screen career in 1954 with the film Godzilla. Since then, the giant lizard has gone on to appear in around 38 movies. His story has been told in a variety of prequels, sequels, spin-offs, and reboots across a slew of Japanese and American movies. Of all the attempts to revive the iconic movie monster, 2023’s Godzilla Minus One is his greatest reboot.
The film snagged the Oscar for best visual effects – the first Godzilla movie to do so – and it was made for a fraction of its Hollywood counterparts. The story returned to Godzilla’s more frightening roots and did not shy away from showing exactly the type of devastation that a gigantic reptile with nuclear fire for breath can wreak on humanity. A sequel is currently in the works, and if it is half as good as Godzilla Minus One, audiences are in for something very special.
