Since No One Asked, Paramount is Remaking 80s Sci-Fi 'Explorers'

When it comes to remakes nowadays, no one is really clamoring for any of them. But that doesn't stop studios from picking up old properties, especially from the 80s, and making them new again. THR has word on the latest with Paramount Pictures commissioning Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol writers Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec to produce a remake of the 80s teenage sci-fi adventure Explorers. The original film followed three teen boys who create a homemade spaceship and blast off into the unknown and find a race of aliens who might be more than meets the eye. It's pretty easy to see how this could be remade.
Better Living Through Chemistry writing and directing Geoff Moore and Dave Posamentier will script the film, but they won't be behind the camera. Joe Dante was behind the original, so it would be nice to find an up and coming sci-fi director to take the helm. Actually, my pick would be William Eubank, who delivered the compelling sci-fi The Signal at Sundance earlier this year (read Alex's review right here). The original film has become a sort of classic for kids who grew up with the film that marked the big screen debuts of a young Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix, but it's not exactly sacred ground. The tone being cited for the remake would be something akin to the delayed time travel adventure Welcome to Yesterday, so it could turn out to be a fun little flick. Stay tuned