3 Movie Sagas that Should Never be Rebooted

Every once in a while, there comes a movie saga that shocks the world and makes history. Some are so good that they go beyond just being well-received and become classics that inspire generations of storytellers. Some have the most mind-boggling plot twists that so many other projects will just be made with the sole purpose of trying to beat that particular plot twist. Hollywood has made it clear, whether intentionally or not, that they are willing to have people relive the hype and wonder of the movies of the past, either by re-releasing old movies during their anniversaries or simply rebooting them and updating some key aspects in order to appeal to the modern audience and avoid any problematic connotations that could be attached to the projects. This article will explore three of the best sagas in moviemaking history and explain why they should never be rebooted.

1. Star Wars

One of the most well-known IPs in the world: Star Wars, the epic saga of good versus evil, represented by the war between imperialism and democracy, or the more subtle one, the war between two religions. Star Wars has entrenched itself into pop culture and is still going strong almost 50 years after its introduction to the world. Although fans state that the quality of the projects decreases, all the movies still cross the billion-dollar mark and the Disney+ streaming service always sees a spike in subscriber numbers whenever a new Star Wars project is on. Needless to say, investing in Star Wars is never going to be a bad idea. Although there is a lot of profit when it comes to Star Wars releases, the fans do have a point in regard to quality. To most, Star Wars peaked all the way back in 1980, with the release of Empire Strikes Back, which featured the most well-known (and often misquoted) plot twist in movie history. The prequel trilogy almost had a similar plot twist, which would have just convoluted the storyline. The sequel trilogy tried to do it twice and it failed. The plot twist is also the basis for most of the arguments online about which order Star Wars should be watched in. Those who say release order say it simply because of the plot twist. Having had such a huge plot twist is arguably what cemented Star Wars as the historic and beloved franchise that it is today. It also spans multiple books, comics, animated shows, live action series and tells a story that is too vast to simply just let go of. This leads to it being an impossible thing to reboot. There would be no merit in rebooting Star Wars at all, and the fans would not take too kindly to it. Nothing they could do would be new or groundbreaking, because Star Wars has done more than enough of that as it is. It cannot be redone.

2. The Matrix

Something that came out of nowhere and took the world by storm is definitely the huge phenomenon known as The Matrix. This movie came out in 1999 and had a lot of competition, as it was the same year as the release of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. It was a bold choice for any company at all to try to release something in the genre at the same year as a long-awaited project like Star Wars. To everyone’s surprise, this movie actually beat out Star Wars as the sci-fi phenomenon of the year. The ingenious plot twist involved in this movie, and the revolutionary story that it told, cannot be redone in any way that merits a reboot. This movie was so good that none of the three sequels managed to capture the same magic, and that is saying something, because the same people who made the first one made the others, and had just as much creative freedom as they did with the original. There was just something magical about the movie that no one can really explain that was not translated to the second, third and fourth movies. The story was told from beginning to end, and the characters were embodied so well by the actors that to try and retell the story would be a waste of time and putting a target on the cast and crew in the sights of social media users. It is simply not worth the time or effort to remake it. In fact, it is so out of bounds that even making more sequels is a waste.

3. Back to the Future

Doc and Marty and the dynamic duo who headline this iconic trilogy. Started back in 1985 and ending in 1990, the trilogy still as popular as ever. It has a pop culture relevance that beats out many movies that were really out there. They were three very beautifully, artfully made movies and told a complete story that does not need to be retold or continued. The saga has a special place in the hearts of the fans, and even they agree that it should not be redone. There has been recent talk of rebooting it, but thankfully, the creator of the trilogy himself said that for as long as he can, he will stop any attempt at remaking the movie. That is a solid enough reason on its own, but there is more to it. The other reason is the story that was told in the first movie. The first movie has Marty's mother falling in love with Marty because he put himself in the position his father was supposed to be in when he met Marty's mother. The rest of the film revolves around Marty trying to get his parents to fall in love while at the same time avoiding the affections of his mother. Some people will not take that story too well these days, as there are a lot more limitations on the kinds of stories one can tell nowadays compared to back in the 80s. In fact, even back then, it was a bit of a problem, as the script was rejected by some studio executives because it was, according to them, "an incest story." Having watched the movie, we see that it is not that at all. Unfortunately, that is not how many people will see it, even today, and so it will have to be changed in a possible remake. Cutting out what was essentially a core aspect of the movie would not sit well with fans of the original and would take away a lot of the potential comedic nature of the movie itself.

There are other movie sagas or even standalone movies that should not be remade due to a variety of reasons, but the main ones always will be that their legacy is so entrenched in our culture that there is no point in redoing it, or that certain key elements will be removed because of the time period in which they would be released. However, it is not a guarantee that a movie will be bad simply because it is a reboot. There have been good reboots in the past, but very few of them were noticeable or justified their existence.

What do you think of our list? Do you agree with it? What other movies do you think should not be rebooted?