UNLEASHING NOSTALGIA AND NOVELTY: CLASSIC FRANCHISES AND NEW AMBITIONS ON THE HORIZON

There’s a rumour out there, in the B-movie vortex that connects cinema and TV series, of stories long watched running out of lives, of zombie revivals and perhaps even fresh tales meant to entertain us in fresh ways. What rumour is it that moves my lips silently as I pass by the cinema or log on to Prime Video, and makes me whisper: Is it really true that a sequel to Spaceballs, the great cult film of sci‑fi parody, is finally coming into focus? While across the upstream Atlantican influx, stars are being cast, teasers made for new seasons, and stories set to go on repeating themselves while pretending to be full of surprise.

CLASSIC & CONTEMPORARY COLLIDE: CASTING MAGIC AND FRESH FACES

These actors announce their casting in a world of constant new faces and seasoned veterans where the news is inevitably met with a sense of industry-wide enthused expectation. That Peacemaker season 2 is expanding with characters that include the casting of Sol Rodríguez and David Denman, big name actors that promise to remove some of the comics-based airs from comic domination – the former as Sasha Bordeaux, Bruce Wayne’s former bodyguard, and a classic character thrust into modern dramaturgy; the latter, in a surprise role with unknown purpose.

REIMAGINING THE CLASSIC: A SINISTER TWIST ON DISNEY

His exploitation of audience goodwill – Mickey mouse brutally murdered? Oh, the horror! – takes on a new meaning when you consider that David Howard Thornton, who stars as Art the Clown in Terrifier, is playing Mickey here in a short called Screamboat. This kind of radical reinvention was hardly imaginable in the pre-children’s entertainment boom days, when studios were terrified of deviating from what audiences had come to expect. But in the new era, with every genre a potential money-maker, studios will continue to churn out nostalgic works for their Baby Boomer core audience and sneak them into the Hemlock.

THE PULSE OF CLASSIC HUMOR: SPACEBALLS AND BEYOND

A ‘Spaceballs’ sequel is getting closer and closer to happening. And now, the whispers are growing into a huge cheering section, as Josh Gad continues claiming one thing and one thing only when talking about a follow-up to Mel Brooks’ fantastic sci-fi spoof: ‘I know nothing about it but I know that it will be happening one day.’ Way back in 2014, it was reported that Brooks himself was taking steps toward making a sequel to his 1987 space-themed spoof, adding fuel to the fire that was bubbling up. Then, in June of 2019, Gad (the voice of Olaf in Frozen) started tweeting a bunch of cryptic stuff about a ‘Spaceballs’ follow-up (with the intention of sparking speculation). Later that same year in December, Gad reiterated the above quote. A Spaceballs sequel is closer than it’s ever been And now, off the back of the (also timely) 2021 Space Jam: A New Legacy, the whispers are growing into a huge cheering section, as Josh Gad continues claiming one thing and one thing only when talking about Spaceballs 2: ‘I know nothing about it but I know that it will be happening one day.’ Meanwhile, there’s a whole >Generation X (people currently aged 41 to 56) who have vivid memories of the first film and would happily pay good money to see a new version modernised with the cinematic advancements of the past 34 years.

PUSHING BOUNDARIES WITH CLASSICS: THE BOYS AND YELLOWJACKETS

The sheer shock of classic tropes in uncharted waters can be felt in shows like The Boys and Yellowjackets. Jack Quaid suggests that season four will have more shockers than even the notorious ‘Herogasm’ episode. Meanwhile, Christina Ricci suggests that the coming season of Yellowjackets will be one that ‘blurs the line between brutality and comedy’.

A CLASSIC RESURGENCE IN CINEMA: SAW XI'S PROMISE

The Saw franchise, a horror icon that pulls in the most money in the genre, is promising a film that will continue its ‘Sawdust in the heart of darkness’, as Wan describes the classic grotesque aspect of the franchise – except that on top of that, it will have a ‘big fat head full of rage’. Saw XI is the latest sign that the horror industry is starting to give you more than just blood and guts. This might not be Academy Award-worthy material, but it’s something.

EXPLORING THE ESSENCE OF A CLASSIC

Classic implies an eternal pull: an appeal beyond answers to mere questions of when or where but between when and where? Whether in a reboot of a beloved franchise or a reimagining of an old cast of characters, or an incorporation of classic elements into new narratives or stories, the ‘classic’ could be thought of, first and foremost, as the re-evocation of the nostalgic: of a moment in time before the classic was popular. Stirrings in the film and television industries point to a reinvention of classic films and television, where the rose-tinted past merges with the hues of the present and the future. We, the viewers, are in for a treat: films and television shows that capture the spirit of the classics and take us by surprise at the same time. Every casting announcement, rebooting of a character, or prediction about a sequel, is a testament to the beating heart that lies beneath classic film and television: a promise of adventure, laughter, and wonder that’s as fresh and enjoyable now as it was the first time we encountered it. The conversation between classic and new media perpetually enriches the discourse about entertainment, as well as our shared cultural heritage – and ensures that the imaginative flame will never be extinguished. But whatever comes of these tantalising projects, there’s no escaping the fact that classics remain endlessly enjoyable, and today’s storytelling is endlessly inventive. This seems like a golden age for classic and contemporary flirting, an era in which the very announcement of a sequel, the news that a new cast has come aboard, a new storyline is planned, feels like a promise for new classics, soon to be loved and remembered for generations to come.