Nowadays, it seems like almost all forms of entertainment coming out are either revivals, adaptations, or spin-offs of already-existing media. Several big-name titles are movies and shows coming back to life after years, sometimes even decades, worth of hiatus. The reason behind this is actually very sensible.
First off, writing a movie script takes time. For some people, it can take six months or more to write a movie script. Afterwards, they have to budget for the movie and hire the cast, which takes two to six months, then they have to get the project greenlit (given permission to go ahead with the movie), which can take a wide variety of time.
According to Adrienne Jordan of Forbes, “it could take months or years before an executive director says ‘yes.'” Then, they have to scout locations, which is one of the shortest parts of the process (only “a whole working day“). Storyboarding (creating a visual representation of how a story will play out, scene by scene) “can take a few weeks or even months.” Overall, the production of a movie by itself is already a multi-year process.
According to Sarand Padhye of Miracalize Media, “it takes about 2-3 years to make a 2-hour movie.”
Because the whole process takes so long, it makes sense why producers tend to piggyback off of movies and shows (and other forms of entertainment) that have already been made so that they can cut some of the steps out (reusing plots, actors, etc.). According to Morris Raskin of Spectator, “the original movie might’ve taken up to decades in the writer’s mind, while the sequel usually takes around only two to five years.”
Real World Movies and Shows
There’ve been multiple movies and shows that have been revived in recent years. For example, Mean Girls was first released in Apr. 2004, had a sequel movie in Jan. 2011 and has had multiple on-stage performances from 2018 to 2020. It also had a musical film version released in Jan. 2024. In the franchise, there have also been multiple novels, video games, and mobile games released from 2009 to 2024.
On the kids’ television side of things, Yo Gabba Gabba!, which originally ran from Aug. 2007 until Nov. 2015, was rebooted in a new series called Yo Gabba GabbaLand!, which started in Aug. 2024. The series casts Kamry Smith as character Kammy Kam to replace Lance Robertson, the actor of DJ Lance Rock.
Another TV show that has been revived is iCarly, which originally ran from Sept. 2007 until Nov. 2012, and was rebooted from June 2021 until July 27, 2023.
Animated
The ’80s and ’90s
On the animated side of things, The Little Mermaid, which was released in Nov. 1989, was announced to have a live-action version just before the 2020 global pandemic. In May 2023, a controversial live-action version of The Little Mermaid was released. A lot of debate swirled around about the race of The Little Mermaid actress (Halle Bailey), and why the producers would change a fundamental component of the movie. There are also rumors of a new horror movie version being released.
Another example of a ’90’s TV show that was remade is Rugrats, which started in 1991, and has had multiple revivals throughout the years, the most recent of which was released in the spring of this year. There’s also rumors of a live-action Rugrats movie in the works as well.
The Lion King is another ’90’s animated media that was recently revived. The original movie came out in June 1994, and numerous sequels and TV shows were released up until 2015. Four years later, in July 2019, a CGI film with R&B singer Beyoncé playing Nala was released. A prequel CGI film, Mufasa: The Lion King, is set to release on Dec. 20, 2024.
The 2000s and 2010s
In more recent years, the trend of revivals has continued. For example, The Fairly OddParents, which originally ran from March 2001 until July 2017, has been revived multiple times, first in March 2022 with The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder, then again in May 2024 with a series titled The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish. There have also been multiple live-action movies released, including A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner!, A Fairly Odd Christmas, and A Fairly Odd Summer, all three featuring Drake Bell as Timmy Turner and Daniella Monet as his love interest, Tootie.
Phineas and Ferb, another 2000s animated show, originally ran from Aug. 2007 until June 2015. Two movies, Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension and Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe (2011 and 2020 respectively), were spawned from the series. And after a decade long hiatus, season five of Phineas and Ferb is set to debut in 2025.
Another animated movie that is about to come to life is How to Train Your Dragon. With the first film released in March of 2010, the franchise has consisted of multiple sequels and a series, with the latest coming out in 2019. And on June 13, 2025, Hiccup and his crew are set to be in the real world in a live-action movie.
Novels Turned Movies and Shows
The ’50s
In 1950, the first book of The Chronicles of Narnia series, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was published. The following six years, six sequels were published, with the last published in 1956. A decade later, in 1967, a TV series adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was released. A little over ten years later, in 1979, an animated series of the same installment was released. Another decade after that, another series adaptation was released, this time of the first five novels, running from 1988 to 1990. From 1984 to 2022, The Chronicles of Narnia was put on stage, with multiple plays performed. There are rumors that there is a new The Chronicles of Narnia film to be released in 2025, produced by the Barbie movie producer Greta Gerwig.
The 2000s
Another book series that has been turned into digital media is Bridgerton. The book series of the same title by Julia Quinn consists of eight novels, and was released from 2000 to 2006. In Dec. 2020, the first season of a Netflix series based on the books was released, with the most recent season (season four) released in May 2024.
Video Games
Not only have movies, shows and novels been turned into live-action, but so have video games. For example, Sonic the Hedgehog, which was first released in 1991, with more than 100 games released since (the latest being Sonic X Shadow Generations, released in Oct. 2024). It has also spawned multiple animated series, as well as a spin-off centered around Knuckles the Echidna, called Knuckles (released April 2024). In 2020 and 2022, two live-action movies, Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, were released. A new live-action movie, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, is set to release Dec. 20, 2024.
Another video game turned movie is the Five Nights at Freddy’s video game franchise, which has had new releases from 2014 up until 2022, was adapted into a live-action movie in Oct. 2023, with a sequel movie set to release in Dec. 2025. The franchise has also spawned more than 90 books, novellas, and graphic and interactive novels, with the most recent interactive novels, Return to the Pit and Escape the Pizzaplex, are projected to be released in Dec. 2024 and April 2024, respectively.
This just skims the top of adaptations, live-action movies, and revivals, that have been released in recent years. The practice of reimagining different forms of entertainment has gone on since the dawn of time. Not only is it less work than creating a whole new idea, but if it’s not broken, don’t fix it, right?