Remake vs. reboot. Two terms widely used within the film industry that we may have heard of, but what do they mean? What is the difference between them? We’ll begin by mentioning what they do have in common: both words are ways of referring to the new version of a movie that has been filmed in the past.
According to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, the term remake is defined as "adaptation or new version of a work, especially of a film", that is "to make again". Now if we look for the term reboot, it is defined as "to start over", very similar to "to restart". The term also comes from the world of comics where it is common to create new stories from each character. In the particular case of cinema, this type of content arrived through superheroes.
Throughout the history of cinema, we have seen both remakes and reboots of many films. In the case of the remake, as we mentioned, it consists of retelling the same story but with different actors to improve the original work. Sometimes it is done with the aim of revisiting the success years later, others to improve the film with the help of new technologies and special effects, or to make the story more modern and attractive to young audiences, among many other reasons. In any case, there have always been controversies with remakes because the audience often prefers the original film.
An example of this is Rebecca, a 1940 Hitchcock film that was remade last year, starring Lily James and Armie Hammer (On The Basis of Sex). Another very common example of remakes are Japanese horror films that have transcended borders and helped revitalize the genre, such as Ringu, better known as Ring.
Soon we will have the theatrical release in Latin America of the remake of the successful French film The Belier Family. In this case, the film is titled CODA and it will star renowned Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez, Oscar and Golden Globe winner Marlee Matlin, British actress Emilia Jones, alongside a great cast.
The term reboot is used to refer to a new version of a movie (or series) that was made years ago, but giving the story a new interpretation and taking into account only the most important elements. Generally, the characters appear in different movies, are played by different actors and live a different story from the previous one.
As to why reboots are made, it does not differ from the reasons of the remake: to repeat the success of a previous story, but in a different way because in this case it is given a twist, elements are added, etc.
There are multiple examples of this type of content, but the superhero franchises stand out above all, thus getting to tell each story individually beyond a feature film that includes them all. For example, X-Men returned as The New Mutants, James Bond franchises, 007, Batman, Catwoman, Spiral, among many others.
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