Image Credit: Everett CollectionReports that Colin Farrell had been offered the starring role in Miramax’s remake of Total Recall are still premature, according to the actor’s rep, but Farrell is a leading candidate to replace Arnold Schwarzenegger, who played either an interplanetary spy or an Everyman who simply becomes convinced he’s on a dangerous mission to colonize Mars. Farrell certainly would bring an entirely different energy to the role of Douglas Quaid, but so would anyone who’s not the governor of California. As someone who’s watched the 1990 film at least 40 times, I’m torn over whether I want a remake of Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall, or a more devoted adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s “We Can Remember it for you Wholesale.” I revere the original novella, but I also have a soft sport for the film’s karate-kicking Sharon Stone and the gruesome mutant freedom-fighter named Kuato. Part of me would love a starker vision of the story, but if the credits roll, and I don’t see Kuato peering out of some dude’s belly, I’ll be a bit upset.
How do you prefer your Total Recall?
Read more:
Colin Farrell may be headed to Mars for ‘Total Recall’ remake
(Reporting by Josh Rottenberg)
Really, no one better than Colin available for this?
keep it closer to the Dick story, otherwise I’ll stay home and watch my DVD of a movie that doesn’t need all that much improving.
I would love to see Vin Diesel in this. I don’t know why. Oh! Three t!itted hooker! Who will play her???
Totally unnecessary remake.
See I’m a big fan of the original, but I actually disagree.
A lot of that movie is SO Schwarzennegerized (“Give deeesse people AIIRR-UGHH!!!” “Consider this a divorce”) that a remake that hews more closely to the source material (or simply doesn’t star Ah-nuld) can’t help but be significantly different.
(Or maybe “Totally unnecessary remake” was simply your suggested title for this project.)
I like that as a title.
I will admit that my comment was quick and flip, but I think a remake of the movie in unnecessary. However, a new adaptation of the original novella would be fine.
I agree with Lisa Simpson. Unless the script is vastly different, there simply is no point to it.
Once we appear to have a misleading article. I was under the impression that this was definitely NOT a remake of Total Recall but a very clear film of the story We Can Remember it for you Wholesale. Have I missed something here? It ain’t a remake and is entirely justified, welcome and a very good allegory fir the current state of the world. A remake of Total Recall seems a litre pointless but it isn’t like Hollywood, and all the other filmmakers on the planet having been. Filming remakes for over 80 years is it?
Verhoeven’s movies are so fun. I doubt Colin Farrell (even though I appreciate his charisma) is schlocky enough for the remake I would enjoy.
The real question SHOULD be…but what about the triple-breasted prostitute?
Depends…if you’re going to call this movie “Total Recall,” then you must have the mutant storyline and everything else we loved about the original.
But if you stick closer to Dick’s story, then don’t call it “Total Recall.” For that matter, enough time has passed that we can safely change the character’s name back to “Douglas Quayle.”
That goofy alien invasion from the end of the short story would sure be kooky!
“What Quaid does a Kuato have to blow around here to get a Molson?”
A full-on adaptation of ‘We Can Remember it For You Wholesale’ would be fantastic and Farrell would be better suited for it than Schwarzenegger. ‘Total Recall’ is fun but it hasn’t aged very well and it is certainly noweher near as good as Verhoven’s ‘Robocop’.
Seriously, I saw it for the first time a few years ago and it was utter hokum. Perhaps a re-imagining ain’t a bad idea.
Just watch. There soon will be a remake of Back to the Future staring Zack Efron.
I agree. If a departure from Total Recall (a classic) and a truer adaptation of the original text, then there’s plenty of justification for this movie. Let’s not forget that Colin Farrell did great justice to another Philip K. Dick story in “Minority Report.”