While the constant stream of remakes and reboots hitting our screens can sometimes get a bit much, there’s one trend that we’re totally here for. I refer, of course, to the spate of all-female remakes that Hollywood has released or announced in the past few years. Turns out 2016’s wonderful Ghostbusters reboot was just the beginning. Producers have just released the poster for the all-female version of Ocean’s Eleven – Ocean’s Eight. 1950s dystopian novel Lord of the Flies is set to receive the same treatment, as is comedy classic Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. The mission to address the gender imbalance on our screens has begun.
In light of this, we’ve had a think about which other classic films we’d love to see remade with women at the helm. How cool could Women in Black be, for example? Who wouldn’t want to watch mafia-based thriller The Godmother? Here are our top picks of movies that need to get an all-female remake as soon as possible.
16. Sherlock Holmes
There’s already a bit of precedent for gender-bending in the world of Sherlock Holmes. The popular CBS drama Elementary not only set the story in modern New York City but also turned Sherlock’s sidekick John Watson into Joan Watson! They’ve already gone halfway – why not go the full whack and make Sherlock a woman, too? We’d love to see remakes of the action-packed Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes movies with an all-female cast. Two sassy Victorian ladies solving crimes while being totally badass… Who wouldn’t want to watch that?
15. Men in Black
Let’s face it: the Men in Black movies are modern classics. They’re witty, full of action, and never get old no matter how many times you watch them. While Will Smith and Tommy-Lee Jones are great as Agents J and K, we’d love to see a spin-off or a remake featuring their female counterparts. In the third movie, Emma Thompson’s Agent O proved that female agents can be just as badass as the dudes. Not only do we need more O in our lives, we also need to meet the rest of the Women in Black. Strong female characters saving the world and kicking alien butt… It’s a recipe for success.
14. James Bond
Every time rumors crop up that suggest current Bond actor Daniel Craig is leaving the franchise, the same old discussion goes on in the media. Will producers finally break from tradition and cast a woman in the lead role? We’d be so down for the adventures of super-spy Jane Bond hitting our screens. Another iconic (and usually male) British role – that of the titular Doctor in Doctor Who – was recently given to a woman for the first time. If Jodie Whittaker can take on Who, why can’t another amazing actress become the world’s most famous spy? It needs to happen.
13. The Terminator
Here’s an idea: instead of making crappy sequels (Terminator: Genisys, I’m looking at you), why don’t filmmakers produce a reboot of the original Terminator movie with a woman in the lead role? It couldn’t end up being any worse than the very questionable follow-ups that have been made so far. Let’s make the infamous cyborg a woman. Also, let’s put more focus on Sarah Connor’s badassery rather than having Kyle Reese come and save her. Basically, let’s recast the whole thing with the most awesome actresses in Hollywood. Gwendoline Christie as The Terminator, anyone? I’d be so down for that.
12. Fight Club
Fight Club has to be one of the most hyper-masculine movies ever made. It’s basically a ton of ‘tough guys’ having fistfights and blowing things up. Sure, there’s a token female character in there, but she’s not given the chance to ‘prove herself’ in the same way the men are. It would be really fascinating to flip the genders and explore what could motivate women to start their own Fight club. Plus, it’d be a great chance to prove that we ladies don’t just exist to look pretty and be emotionally strong. We can be physically tough, too. We DEFINITELY need to talk about making this version of Fight Club.
11. The Big Lebowski
The Cohen Brothers’ crime comedy flick The Big Lebowski has become a cult classic since its release in 1998. It tells the tale of Jeff ‘The Dude’ Lebowski, a slacker caught up in a case of mistaken identity. Hi-jinks ensue, a woman ends up pregnant, and Lebowski eventually gets to return to his beloved bowling alley. It’s been rumored that a spin-off of Lebowski is in the works, focussing on egotistical, hairnet-wearing bowler Jesus Quintana. However, we’d much prefer to see a female-led reboot of this popular comedy. Flipping the genders would be an interesting take on a very ‘manly’ film. Still, it’d be easy enough to make Jeff “Jess” and roll from there.
10. Reservoir Dogs
Quentin Tarantino’s first feature film, Reservoir Dogs quickly became a cult classic upon its release in 1992. Its iconic opening scene – the guys in suits walking in slow-mo to George Baker’s “Little Green Bag” – has gone down in movie history. However, the film rather noticeably has an all-male cast. The members of the criminal gang who carry out a diamond heist are all dudes.
Wouldn’t it be fascinating to flip the genders and have an all-female cast take on this movie? The plot doesn’t require all of the lead characters to be men, so why keep it that way? There are so many actresses out there who would nail those roles. Come on, make it happen.
9. Indiana Jones
Here we have another classic series that really needs a change of direction. The original Indiana Jones series was swashbuckling (if sometimes sexist) fun. Harrison Ford played hunky archaeologist Indy to perfection and the original trilogy was a really neat little set of films. Then they made Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and everything went wrong. There are plans for another film in the franchise, and frankly, I’d pay millions for it to be an all-female reboot rather than another sub-par sequel. Can you imagine how cool a female Indy would be? It’d be so much better than another Shia LaBeouf-led monstrosity.
8. The Avengers
The first Avengers film was a solid superhero flick, but fell into the classic trap of “here, have a token woman!” Scarlett Johannson’s Black Widow was the only female Avenger, and she didn’t actually have any superpowers. Things have got a bit better since then — we’ve got Scarlet Witch, the Wasp, and Captain Marvel on the horizon. However, wouldn’t it be so cool to have a superhero movie in which women are the majority rather than the exception? There’s no reason why Captain America couldn’t be female, or the Incredible Hulk, or Iron Man (Woman?) for that matter. Instead of constantly bringing more male heroes into the mix, why can’t Marvel give us the all-female reboot we so desperately deserve?
7. Star Trek
Star Trek is the perfect candidate to boldly go where no sci-fi franchise has gone before. The most recent installment in the series, Star Trek: Discovery, has put a female character at the helm of the show. Why not go one step further an have an all-female crew aboard the Starship Enterprise? We could have a female Spock, or a female Captain Kirk! A whole badass team of female humans and aliens could cruise through space, frequently saving the day as they go! Why has nobody ever thought of this before? Oh yeah, I forgot about the huge sexism in the industry. Still. Let’s make it happen!
6. The Matrix
The original Matrix film, starring Keanu Reeves as ‘The Chosen One’ Neo, is a modern cinematic classic. (Let’s not talk about the sequels, shall we?) There were some murmurs that a fourth movie in the franchise was in the works. If the other two sequels are anything to go by, something major needs to change if such a film is going to succeed. Why not make that change a switch in the gender of the lead characters? I have a feeling that a female Neo would be pretty cool, as would a female Morpheus. Let’s have some of the biggest ladies in Hollywood kick some virtual reality butt.
5. The Godfather
Mafia matriarchs can be just as sinister as their male counterparts: Just look at Livia in The Sopranos. For this reason, we think that The Godfather is the perfect candidate for an all-female remake. Recasting the sinister Mafia Underground as a group of scheming and conniving women would certainly add a new angle to the franchise. Women are smart enough to go far in the world of organized crime too, you know! Let’s make this remake happen – and fast. Some fans have suggested that Meryl Streep could play the title role. Yes, yes, so much yes! If anyone could do that role justice, it’s Queen Meryl.
4. The Hangover
This popular comedy about a bachelor party gone horribly wrong would be so easy to reboot with an all-female cast. Turn it into a bachelorette party, add in some hilarious female actresses, and voila! It’s bound to be a hit. Even if a straight-up remake isn’t on the cards, an all-female spin-off could do the job quite nicely. We bet that Melissa McCarthy’s character Cassie would get up to some hilarious antics with her gal pals. It’d be like an even messier, even more, outrageous version of Bridesmaids! Since the latter film doesn’t have a sequel on the cards anytime soon, why not fill the wedding-comedy-shaped hole in our lives by making a Hangover female reboot?
3. Armageddon
Despite getting largely negative reviews and being pretty scientifically inaccurate, Armageddon was the highest-grossing film of 1998. Featuring an ensemble cast of stars like Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, and Owen Wilson, the film depicted a team of deep-core drillers trying to destroy a gigantic asteroid before it hit the Earth. It starred one token woman – the incredible Liv Tyler – whose character, of course, ended up romantically involved with one of her male counterparts. Here’s an idea: why not show the world that women can be space heroes too and remake Armageddon with a slightly better gender balance? Hell, why not make them all women aside from a token romantic-lead male? The reviews might well be better this time around. Women can do science! Why doesn’t the film industry show that?
2. The Expendables
This tongue-in-cheek action franchise stars an ensemble cast of mostly male actors. Of course, each film in the series does have its token woman, but we’re not sure that’s quite enough. Instead, we’d like to see the series remade with an all-female cast. Think how awesome it would be! It would prove that not only can women as a whole be strong physically and emotionally, they can still do so when they’re past ~a certain age~. One of the main points of The Expendables is that you shouldn’t write older men off. We need to make the same statement about older women, too. Hitting the menopause doesn’t make you totally useless!
1. The Magnificent Seven
Question: why do all of the cool Western movies have to feature cowboys, but not cowgirls? Why are women usually relegated to parts where all they need to do is look pretty and be rescued? A perfect way to rectify this would be to produce an all-female remake of one of the most iconic Westerns out there: The Magnificent Seven. Just think about it.
Seven badass cowgirls riding around the Wild West, shooting up bad guys and flirting with hapless men. WE NEED THIS. The film industry needs to stop constantly remaking male-led Westerns and give women a chance to take on roles like these. PLEASE. Oh, and while they’re at it, could they stop making Westerns that appropriate Native American culture? Thanks.