We’re not against films that are labeled as reboots per se, but we are fervently against reboots of films that were made within the last decade. It’s not that the new films themselves are guaranteed to be terrible, but there’s something so crass and terribly money-grabbing about them. It seems like the word "reboot" is code for either: “we fucked up the first time, and there’s no guarantee that we won’t again” or “we can’t wait to wring some more cash out of this franchise while we still can” or “we best churn out some shit fast before the rights to the property lapse.”
So which of those explanations would apply to a reboot of “The Dukes of Hazzard”? Well, it could be any of the three, provided that it is, in fact, being ‘rebooted.' Jody Hill (“Eastbound and Down,” “Observe and Report”) is attached to direct an untitled action project set in the American South for Warner Bros, and there are whispers that it could be a reboot of “The Dukes of Hazzard.” The story is apparently set in the 1970s and involves an outlaw duo – so we suppose the speculation could be true.
Hill is best known for black comedy, but the suggestion is that he’s going to want this to be a stylish action movie in the vein of Sam Peckinpah. That would certainly be a departure for him, and maybe it will come down to how vital brand recognition is to WB regarding whether it eventually becomes a DoH movie. The problem is, that brand means little to anyone outside the U.S. (the last movie took less than 30% of its gross overseas), and is anyone really crying out to see this franchise back on the big screen? Well, we suppose it depends who they want to squeeze into those shorts… [THR]