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Is The Faculty Getting A Remake?
A Cult Classic With A Cast Of Future Stars
The Faculty Works Due To Its ’90s Vibe
The Faculty Sequel Idea Is Better Than A Remake
Director Hinted At Follow-Up Over Remake
Summary
- The Faculty remake raises doubts due to its cult status and ’90s vibe.
- Sequel could be more appealing by reuniting original cast as teachers facing new threats.
- Director hints at a potential sequel highlighting fresh talent over a remake.
The Faculty officially joins a long list of yesteryear horror classics getting the remake treatment, but it’s unlikely to work for more reasons than one. Back when it was released in 1998, the Robert Rodriguez film was arguably only a moderate hit but went on to gain its own cult fan base.
At the outset, The Faculty obviously looks like one of those films that doesn’t need a remake. The original film did a good job of blending sci-fi and horror and delivered something true to its era, even though it borrowed heavily from other alien invasion or body snatcher films. Revisiting these themes today might feel refreshing, but it doesn’t have to be an exact imitation of the original. Miramax needs to tread carefully with this remake idea and potentially even trace back its steps.
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Is The Faculty Getting A Remake?
Miramax Brings Back The 1998 Sci-Fi Horror Classic
On January 30, 2025, Variety confirmed that Miramax is moving forward with a remake of The Faculty. There’s not much information about who’s involved, except that the writer for the remake is Drew Hancock, and Robert Rodriguez, who directed the original 1998 sci-fi thriller, is returning as a producer. Hancock is notably a breakout talent who recently made his debut with the AI horror hit Companion.
The Faculty revolves around a group of students who begin suspecting that their school’s administrators and teachers are hiding a deadly secret. The teenagers soon discover that their high school faculty has fallen prey to an alien hive mind. At its heart, the film is a slasher but with a weird sci-fi twist. It marries its influences well, drawing from classics like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and John Carpenter’s The Thing.
A Cult Classic With A Cast Of Future Stars
Mixing Teen Horror With Sci-Fi Thrills
Featuring now-popular Hollywood talents like Josh Hartnett, Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Elijah Wood, and even Usher, felt reminiscent of a John Hughes movie. Moreover, the film featured some solid celebrity names, including a pre-Daily Show Jon Stewart, Salma Hayek, and Robert Patrick. To top it off, The Faculty was written by Kevin Williamson, who was quickly gaining recognition for penning successful horror franchises like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer.
With Robert Rodriguez directing The Faculty, fresh off From Dusk Till Dawn’s success, it had all the makings of a genre-defining box office success. Made on a modest $10 to $15 million budget at the time, it grossed a decent $63 million at the box office. But more importantly, it developed a strong following over the years, especially among horror and sci-fi fans.
The Faculty Works Due To Its ’90s Vibe
A Remake Might Struggle To Capture The Same Magic
Perhaps The Faculty could have left a bigger mark at the time of its release had it not been for the general feeling of saturation of horror franchises like Scream. Additionally, the film’s unusual hybrid of genres – mixing a slasher thriller with an alien parasite invasion set in a high school – may have contributed to its initial struggle to stand out. Regardless, it still holds a special place among its niche fan base, thanks to its ’90s-centric campy horror aesthetic and a superb soundtrack to complement it.
The Faculty wasn’t particularly scary, but it compensated for the lack of tension or paranoia with some great special effects that still hold up today. While some CGI moments may have aged poorly, the practical effects, like the big monster and the alien-faced tentacles, still work remarkably well. Speaking of which, the film’s cult status relies heavily on its era-specific vibe. A potential remake might suffer the same fate as the recent remake of The Crow, which didn’t work, simply because it’s not the ’90s anymore.
The Faculty Sequel Idea Is Better Than A Remake
Original Cast Reunion, New Alien Threat & More
A potential remake at this point would likely feel like a cash grab, simply switching around its high school characters to make them feel “Gen Z”. Perhaps the film is better off with a sequel, which could offer much more potential. A new set of teenagers going through the same story would feel redundant unless they changed the setting. Instead, seeing the original cast years later, much older, would be more interesting, especially since most of the actors are still active.
A sequel could re-imagine the original cast, but this time as the teachers at Herrington High. The alien invasion may have affected them, placing them in the same position as their former teachers, while a new group of students tries to stop them. Elijah Wood’s Casey, who emerges a hero at the end of the original movie, could now be seen as a conspiracy theorist, struggling to convince the world of what really happened. There’s also the potential for another alien parasite to emerge, escalating the stakes beyond just a high school – perhaps to an entire town, state, or even the whole country.
Director Hinted At Follow-Up Over Remake
Robert Rodriguez & Fresh Talent Could Revive The Film
In fact, the remake idea may not even be concrete, considering the original director was more interested in a sequel. In 2023, while promoting Hypnotic, Robert Rodriguez subtly hinted at a potential sequel to The Faculty rather than a full-on remake. During a Jake’s Takes interview, the Spy Kids director answered a question about whether the cast of the 1998 film could get back together in a story that unites them. Rodriguez replied positively:
It could be. I can’t tell you what we’re working on, but it could be.
Moreover, the horror genre has some great up-and-coming filmmakers right now who could bring something fresh to the table. Pairing Rodriguez’s expertise and Drew Hancock’s screenwriting talent with some prolific names in the industry could help The Faculty expand its cult fan base even further.
The bottom line is that The Faculty dared to take risks and blend genres, but it never became the multi-million-dollar franchise it was meant to be. Its ambition is worth celebrating, even if its gambles didn’t pay off right away. At a time when horror studios are prioritizing predictable and safe bets, skipping a remake in favor of a sequel that builds on The Faculty’s story and tone would be the smarter choice. Future updates on the film’s director, cast, and overall vision will hopefully shed more clarity on where it’s headed.
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The Faculty
R
Sci-Fi
Horror
Release Date
December 25, 1998
Runtime
104 minutes
Cast
Clea DuVall, Josh Hartnett, Jordana Brewster, Laura Harris, Elijah Wood
Director
Robert Rodriguez
Writers
Kevin Williamson
Budget
$15 million
Studio(s)
MiraMax
Distributor(s)
Dimension Films, MiraMax
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Fuente: successacademy.edu.vn
Categorías: Trend
