Johnny 5, the robot who gained self-awareness and free will thanks to a bolt of lightening in the 1986 comedy Short Circuit, is set to be reactivated.
Rights to a remake of the film have been picked by Dimension Films co-chairman Bob Weinstein, according to a report in Variety. Interestingly, the writers of the original film and its 1988 sequel, S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock have been hired to script this new version.
While I’m sure that the original film is remembered fondly by some folks, does it really have the name recognition factor to warrant a remake? A computer/robot that gains self-awareness is not an idea unique to Short Circuit. Taking into account advances in computer and robotic sciences over the past two decades, I don’t see why they don’t just create a new, original story instead of updating the original for the 21st century.
