Is Hollywood's Nostalgia Train Headed for a Crash?
More signs modern culture might be dying on the vine.
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Last weekend the first picture was released announcing a sequel to the 1990 Tom Cruise film, Days of Thunder. Anne Hathaway is going to be the female lead, in a role that's still undefined but I'm assuming she'll be a love interest. (Never mind that 21 year age gap, folks.) If you're missing Nicole Kidman, don't worry. You can see her in her own long-awaited nostalgic remake of Practical Magic coming out next weekend. I'll have a review for you soon on whether that's worth your time.
Sequels and remakes made decades after a movie's prime are nothing new. What feels different is how pervasive they seem to be on this current timeline. Paramount's 2027 slate is defined by nostalgic sequels and remakes, from Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (and the above mentioned Days of Thunder 2) to the upcoming remake of Andrzej Żuławski's Possession. Put a pin in that for later. And to be fair, every studio is currently on this train but none more so than Paramount. That upcoming merger is needed so they have at least one studio predominately making original movies.
What I'm fascinated more about this current crop of movies is why? Why is the nostalgia train so pervasive right now? I don't think it can be strictly chalked up to "easy IP" or "money." But something more indicative regarding what type of media we're consuming, and who, specifically, has the purchasing power today.
When I talk about films today, specifically with what studios are conjuring up, I always go back to this quote I found on Bluesky:
