Reboots of ‘High Fidelity’ and ‘The Last Starfighter’ are happening: Hollywood is cancelled

Hollywood loves nothing more than mining the past for content, and the 2018 wave of reboot announcements made that habit impossible to ignore. From gender-swapped romantic comedies to virtual-reality stoner adventures, the pipeline was full of familiar titles dressed up as fresh programming. Years later, most of those projects either landed in unexpected forms or faded into development limbo, leaving behind a clearer picture of what actually gets made and what simply stays on the wish list.

That High Fidelity reboot you didn’t want is happening

Did anyone order a rehash of early 00s relationship angst starring an apparently irresistible curmudgeon with an obsession for mixtapes? What about the same story but featuring (get ready, this is really radical) a woman in the lead role?! Deadline suggested Disney is developing a gender-swapped reboot of High Fidelity for its upcoming streaming platform. The series will be based on Stephen Frears’s 2000 movie starring John Cusack (1408) & Jack Black (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle). Described as being “an optimistic-in-tone mixtape / diary rom-com,” the High Fidelity show will be family friendly and focus on a female record store owner breaking the fourth wall as she chronicles past relationships. If you’re not completely sold on the idea (and really, who can blame you?), the show is being written by Veronica West & Sarah Kucserka (Ugly Betty), which actually bodes well for the potential quality of this reboot.

High Fidelity Hulu Series Outcome

The project eventually moved to Hulu and premiered in 2020 with Zoe Kravitz in the lead role. The single season followed the same mixtape-through-relationships structure but leaned into contemporary dating realities and music curation. Viewership numbers stayed modest, and the series was not renewed. Its brief run showed that even a well-cast update can struggle to find an audience when the core premise feels too familiar.

Jay and Silent Bob will strike back again – this time in VR

Blaze up a phat one outside a convenience store (or don’t – whatever, it’s not the 90s anymore) because Kevin Smith (Clerks) is apparently writing and directing Jay and Silent Bob VR. The virtual reality live-action show will be shot from the perspective of Silent Bob (Smith) as Jay (Jason Mewes) “leads the way through a string of idiotic adventures.” Which is (and we mean this sincerely) exactly what the technology was developed for: an immersive experience of absolute stupidity while someone shouts snoochie boochies down your ears every five minutes. What a time to be alive!

Jay and Silent Bob Franchise Evolution

The VR concept never advanced past the announcement stage. Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes have instead shifted focus to a new theatrical film called Store Wars. The project is described as a live-action continuation with the same characters, and early reports place a possible release window around 2027. The move from virtual reality to conventional movie screens reflects both changing audience habits and the practical difficulties of financing large-scale VR productions.

More Stephen King movies are being remade

Highlighting a trend that may seemingly never end, a remake of the 1993 ABC adaptation of Stephen King’s 1987 novel The Tommyknockers is being developed. Roy Lee’s original miniseries is notoriously dreadful (even if it did give every 90s kid infinite nightmares at the time), so this is one remake Film Daily can actually get behind. Even better, James Wan (The Conjuring) is apparently producing the movie, which gives us confidence the story (about an alien who infests the residents of a small town) might turn out well as a feature film. However, it’s worth remembering the original novel is one King himself has called “awful”, so it still might not be the best without some serious overhauling. In similar news, CBS is said to be planning a streaming miniseries of The Stand. Rumors that the 1994 miniseries is being remade comes from The Tracking Board, where it’s been suggested director Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) is developing the epic, apocalyptic story as a “10-hour limited series at CBS All Access.” Watch this space, King fans.

Stephen King Adaptation Surge in 2025-2026

Since the 2018 announcements, several additional King properties have moved into active production or release. The Monkey reached theaters in 2025, while The Life of Chuck and other titles are slated for 2025-2026 windows. The volume of projects underscores how studios continue to view King’s back catalog as reliable source material even when individual adaptations face long development cycles.

Your childhood faves are about to be (potentially) ruined

Remember 80s space opera The Last Starfighter? Of course you do! What about 90s ragtag coming-of-age baseball movie The Sandlot? Sure! What beloved nostalgic memories we have of both of them. Just to piss all over the sanctity of these movies and our feelings for them, both The Last Starfighter and The Sandlot are being remade. Hooray?! Gary Whitta (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) is to team up with the original writer of The Last Starfighter to develop the remake for the big screen. Meanwhile, The Sandlot’s original director David Mickey Evans confirmed to the LA Times he was approached by “a young writer named Austin Reynolds” with an idea for how to “reboot the franchise and give it more life.” From the sounds of it the idea hasn’t been officially snapped up yet, but considering it’s the film’s 25th anniversary this year, movie studios will no doubt be fighting over the opportunity to exploit everyone’s fuzzy feelings about the original. So yeah, that’s happening.

Reboot Fatigue in Hollywood 2025-2026

Industry tracking shows that sequels, reboots, and remakes have accounted for the majority of top-grossing releases in recent years. This dominance creates fewer slots for original stories and increases pressure on every familiar title to justify its existence at the box office. The pattern has led some executives to question whether constant recycling is eroding audience appetite for new intellectual property.

The Office and West Wing could still be rebooted

We have some good news and some bad news, folks. At The Hollywood Reporter’s 12th annual Power Lawyers breakfast on Wednesday (because that’s apparently a thing), NBC entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt revealed there’s no chance of a Friends or Seinfeld reboot ever happening. That’s the good news. The bad news is a potential reboot of The Office may still be a possibility, as is a potential reboot of The West Wing, but only if Aaron Sorkin “weren't busy doing 10 other extraordinary things.” Noting his excitement for the (apparent) current appetite for what he calls the “reboot genre” [groan], Greenblatt insisted that doesn’t mean it’s open season on every beloved NBC property being rebooted anytime soon, adding, “We can't just reboot everything.” However, from the sounds of it, the industry is certainly trying it’s damndest.

The Office and West Wing Update

The Office never received a direct revival. Instead, Peacock premiered an unrelated workplace series called The Paper in 2025 that shares a similar mockumentary style but features an entirely new cast and setting. Aaron Sorkin has voiced interest in revisiting The West Wing following anniversary events, yet no script or production timeline has been announced. Both properties remain dormant while the broader conversation about legacy reboots continues without clear next steps.