The director behind a remake of a Matthew Broderick movie explains why it never came to fruition. Broderick has enjoyed a long and notable career in Hollywood. His career began in the 1980s with Max Dugan Returns, and he quickly evolved into a worldwide sensation. He starred in 1986’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which earned $70 million on a $5 million budget and would eventually be preserved in the Library of Congress. He then went on to appear in The Lion King, Godzilla, and Inspector Gadget. Throughout those years, he also appeared on stage and won two Tony Awards within 15 years.

Broderick’s best movies may have come in the 20th century, but the new millennium also offered him new opportunities. He claimed roles in The Producers, Bee Movie, and The Tale of Despereaux, while appearing in scattered cameo roles on TV. The actor even appeared in Only Murders in the Building, where he played himself. It was the ’80s and ’90s when Broderick enjoyed his greatest level of prominence, however. Recently, one of those ’80s hits nearly returned for a remake. Unfortunately, it never came to pᴀss.

WarGames Nearly Had A Modern Remake

It Would Have Focused On New Technology

1983’s WarGames was Broderick’s breakout hit. He played David Lightman, a young hacker who nearly started a nuclear war after gaining access to the military’s computer systems. The movie was a runaway success, earning $125 million at the box office against a budget of just $12 million. It managed to earn three Academy Award nominations, though it won none. It even managed to educate the public about computer hacking, while tying into the resounding fears of nuclear annihilation. WarGames recently nearly received a remake by director Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses).

All hopes for a new movie were eventually dashed, and the project was scrapped. In an interview with Collider, Gordon explained that the movie was meant to follow the Stuxnet virus, which was a computer bug that severely damaged the Iranian nuclear program. Gordon believes that the topic is still relevant today, but that “they weren’t feeling it at that time,” which ensured that the project “didn’t ever really gain the momentum that it needed to.” Check out his explanation below:

That was at a time when it was the guys from Spyglᴀss that were running MGM at the time, and I had a take on it that was about Stuxnet and that whole world of basically cyber terror and where things could head. I just feel like they weren’t feeling it at that time, and so it didn’t ever really gain the momentum that it needed to. I love the story and the approach, and hey, I gotta say, it’s still relevant. Like everything that happened with [Sandworm] a couple of years ago. It’s frightening. I feel like something’s going to happen in the next four years very relevant to that because the GRU is still in full effect.

Our Take On The Scrapped WarGames Movie

It’s The Right Decision But A Rare One

The WarGames remake would have been a fascinating look into a new world of cyber terror. However, it would not have nearly the same effect as the first version. The original movie was fascinating, because it came early in the computing era. The internet was still a tool that was fresh and new, which made hackers extraordinarily interesting. In the modern era, however, it would not have nearly the same impact. With the number of upcoming movie reboots for 2025, it is nice to see just one movie that will remain untouched. Leaving it alone is the right decision.

Source: Collider