Fant4stic . . . Yeah
The title speaks for itself here. What do you do if you make a reboot and failed? By failure, I mean it’s received the same way one would greet a bag of flaming doggie nuggets on the front porch. People just hate what you have done. Some to the point where they can’t even watch the originals without thinking of the horror you created. You might think that’s an exaggeration, but I know some ‘Airbender’ fans who still feel the pain of the M. Night movie. Anyway, your reboot is abhorred instead of adored.
Personally, I would simply apologize. Admit what you did was wrong and you screwed up. I would look at complaints and recognize the ones that are viable. Maybe you disrespected the message, characters, setting, or story of the original. You were so focused on leaving your mark that you forgot you were playing with someone else’s toys. It happens and it doesn’t hurt to admit that. Learn your lesson and move on to either your own story or to tangle with another reboot. Humility couldn’t hurt.
That’s my take on it. What do you guys think?
Legends of Windemere 
I’ve only seen scenes from the Airbender movie via scathing reviews. I didn’t bother watching it, because ATLA is one of my favorite series ever and I’d heard how the film butchered the story. And I never saw Fant4Stic either though, again, I saw scenes via scathing reviews. Really, the best “Fantastic Four” movie was The Incredibles. Reboots that miss the mark make it harder for other creatives who want to use those IPs. The best way to reboot is to exceed what was done before. (Like the new Dune movies.) That takes some effort.
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Same here. Kind of funny that the best FF movie wasn’t even FF. Totally agree on exceeding originals.
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I’m with you on this one, Charles.
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👍
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I agree with you, Charles. Could this whole concept also apply to fan art?
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Maybe. Fan art usually isn’t trying to replace though. That’s typically an homage.
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Okay.
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As someone who spent 15 years writing Pern fan fiction, it was never about replacing McCaffrey’s work. We were expanding on parts of it that interested us. Also, there were some guidelines from the author about content that we followed.
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I remember those days. Never did it myself, but it was nice to see authors nurture fan-fiction.
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Thank you for the clarification, Deby.
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humility never hurts.
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True.
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You make a great point here. Something becomes a classic for a reason, are you sure you can make something at that level???
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Not sure why people take on that challenge. Very high chance of failure.
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In the context of Hollywood productions, where the press is likely to be asking for reactions, anything other than humility would not be such a good look.
But in the board rooms, the intention of a reboot may not even be to achieve fan approval. If all they want is to keep the copyright active, or fulfill some kind of three-picture contract, then even a reboot that gets panned may still achieve their goals.
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Strange how humility is rare since it would work best. I tend to see criticism and disdain for the source material. A claim that it’s being fixed for modern audiences is common.
I think reboots are more about money these days. Could be wrong.
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