Having mined virtually every 80s horror in existence, the Hollywood remake machine now looks to be turning its attention to the decade’s teen comedies – and when you’re talking 80s teen comedy, you’re talking John Hughes…
According to Deadline, Universal Pictures is to remake Hughes’ 1985 comedy Weird Science, which starred Anthony Michael Hall and Iian Mitchell-Smith as Gary and Wyatt, two teenagers who engineer the perfect woman, Lisa (Kelly LeBrock), to fulfill their adolescent sexual desires, only for things to spiral out of control as she takes them on an increasingly crazy adventure. Also featuring in the cast were Bill Paxton as Wyatt’s older brother Chet, along with an early appearance from Tony Stark himself, Robert Downey Jr.
The Weird Science remake is being written by Michael Bacall, who penned the box office hits 21 Jump Street and Project X, and is planned as an “edgier R-rated comedy in line with 21 Jump Street and The Hangover.” Original producer Joel Silver is set to oversee the project, and should it prove successful you’d have to imagine a flood of Hughes remakes to follow.
Originally published April 19, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
