Amazon All in on Nostalgia As It Eyes Reboots for Robocop, Legally Blonde, and More

Amazon Studios is dipping its toes — or maybe the whole dang foot — into remakes.

According to Deadline, the company is considering about a dozen titles for film and/or TV development. The titles hail from MGM’s extensive film and television catalogue as Amazon bought the studio in March 2022 for $8.5 billion. Now, some of MGM’s biggest hits are being eyed for remakes.

Some of the titles being considered for remakes are Robocop, Stargate, Legally Blonde, Fame, Barbershop, The Magnificent Seven, Pink Panther, and The Thomas Crown Affair.

Each of these titles are being approached differently, with some being steered more towards film and some towards television. Some of the bigger titles, though, are even being considered for both film and television adaptations.

Currently, Amazon is in early conversations to remake Legally Blonde, the cult classic 2001 comedy starring Reese Witherspoon as the pretty-in-pink lawyer Elle Woods, as both a movie and a TV series. Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde came out in 2003, and a third installment is supposedly in development. According to Deadline, though, efforts to get that movie off the ground have reportedly been on and off for the past five years.

Meanwhile, both the 1987 futuristic action movie Robocop and 1994’s sci-fi adventure film Stargate are also being considered for film and TV adaptations. The Stargate movie is likely to come before its TV show remake, and Robocop’s TV series will possibly come before its film adaptation.

Amazon is actively developing television series based on Fame, Barbershop, and The Magnificent Seven, and there have also been talks about a Thomas Crown Affair movie. A Pink Panther movie, which might be animated, is also being considered. A Poltergeist remake is also a possibility down the road.

While all of this seems to be quite early and nothing is set in stone, it nevertheless seems that Amazon is trying to expand its film and television offerings with beloved franchises from the past. The development behind these MGM properties has been slow due to complex rights issues, but Amazon is no doubt interested.

So, buckle up for some more remakes, legacy sequels, and modern re-imaginings of our beloved classics.

Carson Burton is a freelance news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter at @carsonsburton.