The Fugitive is a perfect movie. That’s not hyperbole, either – it’s an air-tight, compulsively rewatchable thriller with Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones both at the top of their game. It’s one of those rare films that should be considered untouchable. So, of course, Hollywood wants to remake it. Warner Bros. is moving forward with a Fugitive remake, and they’ve tapped Albert Hughes to helm. To make things extra silly, this isn’t even the only Fugitive remake on the horizon: streaming service Quibi is working on one, too.
Deadline is reporting that Albert Hughes will direct a Fugitive remake, and I have opinions. Look, I’m not anti-remake by any means. And heck, The Fugitive wasn’t even an original idea – it was based on a TV series. But the 1993 film directed by Andrew Davis is one of those rare movies I consider to be “perfect.” There are plenty of good movies, but a perfect movie is a rare thing. We should embrace and cherish these rarities, not remake them. But of course, Hollywood is in the “established IP” game. They love projects that already have built-in brand awareness, and so here we are!
Per Deadline, “The studio intends on putting a new spin” on the material, because of course they are. The ’93 film dealt with Dr. Richad Kimble, a vascular surgeon who is falsely accused of murdering his wife. Kimble swears a one-armed man murdered his spouse, but the cops and the justice system don’t buy it and send Kimble to death row. Kimble escapes, though, leading Deputy U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) to hunt him down. The movie was a big hit, and won Jones an Oscar. It also inspired a sequel, U.S. Marshalls, which was definitely not a perfect movie.
Meanwhile, Quibi – the streaming service devoted to short-form content – is developing a Fugitive remake of their own, starring Boyd Holbrook as the accused man and Kiefer Sutherland as the lawman tracking him down. That series has a much different take on the story, involving a subway bombing:
When a bomb rips through the Los Angeles subway train he’s riding on, blue-collar Mike Ferro (Holbrook) just wants to make sure his wife, Allison, and 10-year-old daughter, Pearl, are safe. But the faulty evidence on the ground and “tweet-now, confirm-later” journalism paint a nightmarish picture: it looks to all the world that Mike was responsible for the heinous act. Wrongfully—and very publicly—accused, Mike must prove his innocence by uncovering the real perpetrator, before the legendary cop (Sutherland) heading the investigation can apprehend him.
Hughes’ credits include The Book of Eli, From Hell, and Menace II Society, all of which he co-directed with his brother Allen.
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