‘The Mighty Ducks’ and ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ are set to reboot on television.
A couple of cult classics are in talks to head to the small screen. Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi‘s 2014 vampire mockumentary, What We Do in the Shadows, has received a pilot order from FX. Meanwhile, there’s buzz about a potential TV reboot of The Mighty Ducks from original trilogy screenwriter Steven Brill and producer Jordan Kerner.
After the success of Thor: Ragnarok, everyone is eagerly awaiting Waititi’s next project. He has that Michael Jackson chimpanzee movie in the works, and Clement is hard at work on a Flight of the Concords revival. Nevertheless, no one is passing up the opportunity to return to the realm of our favorite New Zealand-based flat-sharing vampires. For the uninitiated, What We Do in the Shadows basically follows these bloodsuckers around documentary style, as they describe the trials and mundanities of living as the undead.
But the What We Do in the Shadows TV show will be a reboot and feature a new cast, including Kayvan Novak (Four Lions), Matt Berry (The IT Crowd), and Harvey Guillen (Eye Candy). This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but part of the charm of Shadows certainly rested in the performances. Whether Clement and Waititi will reprise their truly iconic roles from the original film is currently unknown, but both will be tasked to write the half-hour comedy. The duo will also executive produce.
In contrast, not much concrete information about The Mighty Ducks TV show is out there at the moment. The original Mighty Ducks film introduced the District 5 ice hockey team, eventually known as the Ducks, and would spawn two more movies to complete a trilogy (not to mention also a real NHL hockey team). The films originally starred Emilio Estevez and a young Joshua Jackson, although as with the Shadows news, there is no word if either actor will return in any onscreen capacity.
Brill is expected to pen the script for ABC Signature Studios to shop around to secure a network. THR reveals that in addition to traditional broadcast and cable outlets, streaming platforms are also being considered. Should ABC be successful, this will be the second time The Mighty Ducks make it to TV after a foray into animation. However, a Mighty Ducks show seems to be much further off.
There’s always danger afoot when rebooting or updating an already-loved film or series in this day and age. Ask anybody who’s ever loved Heathers, and they’ll have some thoughts about the new trailer that came out last week. Remakes don’t always have to be bad, but they largely depend on honoring a primary vision from their source material. The Heathers trailer didn’t work out given a blatant disregard for the fundamental message of the original film.
However, there’s always hope that other reboots — especially those with original creatives on board with production — will do better. Success is less of a long-shot in this case, even in the highly saturated reboot culture of today.
Related Topics: The Mighty Ducks, What We Do In the Shadows
