The Muse Is on Bad Again
Hollywood seems determined to profit from remakes and sequels that film makers take no business writing, producing or releasing. Rather than working difficult to generate new films — ones with novel plot devices, leads and stories from underrepresented communities and compelling cinematic visions, for example — the bigwigs of the American film manufacture are on a mission to quickly ruin whatever remnant of millennial childhood nostalgia.
So, information technology is with a heavy heart — and in recognition that January 10, 2021, marks 5 years since the passing of the admittedly legendary and incomparable David Bowie — that I am forced to accost the announcement of a Labyrinth sequel. Now, does the original motion-picture show crave, necessitate or even hint at a sequel? Is the lead histrion from the original motion-picture show prepared to make an appearance? Is the original director still available? The respond to these questions is a single, resounding "NO." And even so, here nosotros are. Sigh.
Let me to accept a brief moment to discuss why a Labyrinth sequel is an awful, terrible, no-good thought.
A Bowie-Less Labyrinth Sequel Will Be a Travesty
The upcoming Labyrinth sequel faces some tough challenges. For starters, information technology's going to be missing its eternal, androgynous Jareth the Goblin King — a.k.a. the unequalled David Bowie. In 2016, the iconic genre- and gender-bending rock star lost a long battle with liver cancer. His failing health was a well-kept clandestine, and fans and admirers from all over the world mourned his untimely passing.
If you believe that Bowie's absence from a Labyrinth sequel is more a casting challenge than a reason to abolish the unabridged project, I'd recommend that you lot go back and lookout the original 1986 film. Bowie'due south presence extends beyond his insanely flustered hairdo, gigantic codpiece and absurd charismatic demeanor — the homo also wrote and performed more than than half of the movie'south soundtrack.
Seeing Bowie perform as Jareth is much like watching him as Ziggy Stardust. It can be challenging to separate the truth from the fiction of these performances, equally Bowie becomes and then engrossed in his label that he but ceases to be himself. Even as an adult, it's difficult to watch Jareth the Goblin King prance, dance and sing without occasionally stopping to think, "Wow. That really is David Bowie. And, yeah, I will 'Dance the Magic Dance' downwardly my hallway."
I'm sorry, but it'southward impossible for a casting director to notice a multitalented actor/musician to fill Bowie's shoes in an upcoming sequel. It's also a challenge to imagine any viable reason why the original — seemingly immortal — Goblin King would take suddenly changed form. This type of confusion only deepens when considering what might become of the Labyrinth's creatures.
Jim Henson, the mastermind behind the Muppets, directed the original Labyrinth flick. His masterful puppetry showed a depth of skill unmatched by rival puppeteers, and in a time without impressive CGI graphics, he was i of the go-to guys for practical special effects. Sadly, Henson passed away in 1990. Since that time, there have been no less than five theatrical releases with his charming Muppet characters — and they've all been awful.
Some might take those movies as a sign that Henson'south absence is no big deal when attempting to make a sequel. They would be incredibly wrong. A Labyrinth sequel without Bowie AND Jim Henson would be like a Mrs. Doubtfire sequel without Robin Williams. (Don't you cartel, 20th Century Pull a fast one on!) Just stop thinking nigh it and appreciate this magic for what it is!
Making a sequel to the Labyrinth moving picture without using Henson's puppets would be like George Lucas abandoning practical puppetry from his Star Wars franchise in favor of poorly-generated computer graphics. Oh…that's already happened, and the response has been less-than-stellar. Fans who accept grown upwardly watching a specific film are bound to feel slighted, misunderstood or just plain cheated when that flick ends up lost in technological translation.
Not convinced that fans don't desire a CGI-heavy Labyrinth remake? Have a look at how The Lion King fanbase (and critics) reacted to the CGI "live-action"' Disney remake. Here'due south a spoiler: They didn't like it.
A Project Fueled by Profits, Not Passions
All of this begs the question, "Why are these executives green-lighting so many '80s remakes and sequels right now?" Unfortunately, the answer lies in nostalgia-based profit. Academics have long studied consumer behavior, and it seems that recent studies have not fallen on deaf ears.
In 2014, the Periodical of Consumer Research published findings on the connection between nostalgia and money-spending habits. They discovered that people are more willing to spend money when they're feeling sentimental or nostalgic. Advertising executives and film producers take taken this tidbit of information and run with it.
That's why our electric current motion-picture show industry is flooded with remakes and unasked-for sequels, especially to icons from the 1980s and 1990s. Children from that era are at present full-fledged adults with existential dread about the future equally climate change, pandemics and political chaos get out generations clamoring for familiar, comforting nostalgia.
But rather than re-releasing original footage on updated media (recollect Blu-ray and 4K downloads), the motion-picture show manufacture would rather take existing intellectual belongings and rebrand it for the younger generation. In most cases, the result is an alienated original audience and a disinterested youth. This is all done in the name of and for the sake of profit.
So Please, Leave This Gem of a Picture Lone
A picture show shouldn't exist pre-judged as good or bad, of course, but should instead be judged by its merit, reception and lasting impact. Still, even the nearly advanced hologram engineering science could not revive Bowie's onscreen presence (NOR SHOULD Information technology). And no corporeality of CGI could supercede the authenticity and wonder of Henson'due south creations.
The only matter that could remain consistent between the original Labyrinth film and its proposed sequel is its main screenwriter, Terry Jones (of Monty Python fame and glory). Just as of this moment, there'southward no word from the aging Brit as to his possible involvement in writing a sequel.
Equally a effect, there'due south lilliputian promise that a Labyrinth 2 would be anything more a shameless, soulless cash take hold of aimed at adults who long for the simpler, stranger world that lay before them during the '80s. Any project based on profit, not passion, is doomed to fail, and that'due south why I'grand non looking forward to the mess of a sequel that undoubtedly lies ahead.
Source: https://www.ask.com/entertainment/labyrinth-sequel-bad-idea?utm_content=params%3Ao%3D740004%26ad%3DdirN%26qo%3DserpIndex
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