One of the most frequent topics that comes up on The Black Hole group forums over on Facebook is the call for a remake. Given that there’s been reboots of various movies, sometimes those that may really deserve a remake, The Black Hole ends up being a candidate as it’s a dated movie that could easily benefit from the latest effects, a better understanding of the science behind black holes and a rubbish script. However, there have been those with contrary opinions on a remake or reboot where they feel Disney would ultimately fail in producing a satisfactory movie. Given the latest controversial Snow White live action movie, it’s easy to see why many old school, hardcore fans have little faith in Disney properly handling a remake or reboot. Some people think that Disney most likely may attempt to use a DEI type of agenda and butcher the original movie up into something unrecognizable. Like others in that camp, I too am suspicious of Disney being able to pull off something that resonates with me especially considering that I’ve been a life long fan of this movie and tend to view everything Disney produces with great caution. Yet I wanted to post some ideas on how I think a remake/reboot should work out given what people have stated.
Reboot or Remake?
The Black Hole is certainly a movie that can go in either direction. Supposedly, there has been attempts at one or the other. I believe Jon Spaihts was working on a remake for Disney in 2013 but the script/story was bought out and repurposed into the movie Passengers (2016). In reading the results of that movie, it looks nothing like what The Black Hole originally was which makes me curious to what degree the original script was used. Director Joseph Kosinski had been attached to the project and that Emily Carmichael would write the screenplay. But in 2022 Kosinski apparently said that the movie was cancelled due to the similarities with Interstellar, which is understandable (although let’s be honest and say that Interstellar was the properly updated remake of The Black Hole but just removed all the original names and premise).
So as far as it goes, it seems that the project is on hold by Disney. But that still doesn’t address the idea of a reboot or remake. I think the problem with a remake is that you’ll end up getting some unrecognizable hybrid that uses The Black Hole IP but alienates the fans of the original. We’ve seen this occur over the years with movies like GI Joe, the Transformers and Jem and the Holograms. While The Black Hole does not have the same level of a fan base as even those IP (probably even Jem), I doubt that a remake that goes off on a tangent would due Disney any favors given that a lot of stuff hasn’t been well received over the years.
What about a reboot? This is a little more nuanced but it would exist to update the IP. Honestly, Interstellar feels more like the unofficial reboot. But given that reboots are more about reinvigorating the franchise with a new plot etc, I think it still would not satisfy what hardcore fans really want from an updated The Black Hole. So I would lean more towards a certain type of remake. If that’s the case, what would that entail?
The Black Hole Remake
I think some of the keys that need to be addressed in a remake are:
- What elements should be kept
- What elements should be updated
- What things were missing
- What things should be removed
- Who should be responsible
I want to address the last question first. Personally, I don’t want Disney to be involved in a remake. I think they’ll mess it up badly. I feel that the plot will end up getting put together in a boardroom with a list of check marks that indicate some fulfilled criteria. Instead, I think that a remake should be done by hardcore fans that try to keep the spirit of the way this movie was done. Not necessarily shot for shot nor should all the errors be retained (e.g. “habitable life”). I don’t think it would be possible to replicate the incredible matte paintings, even though that’s one thing that would be a feat in itself to repeat.
But let me start on key pieces that I want to see added:
- A more coherent explanation of Kate and Vincent’s ESP. This “feature” never had been clearly explained and the movie treats it more like some mystical power between the two that allows the producers to get around certain limitations. But I’ve always had a major problem with the mechanics such as how Kate has such an ability or how much distance is permitted. For instance, the most absurd aspect to me is the idea of Reinhardt using Kate to transmit messages back to Vincent/the Palomino while the Cygnus enters the black hole. It sounds nice as a motivational tool to keep Kate around but functionally it shouldn’t work.
- The fate of the crew. Yes, we know that Reinhardt pulled a heist when the crew attempted a mutiny but we’re just told that. Some people want a prequel to explain the fate of the crew but I don’t think there’s enough demand to warrant a separate movie dedicated to this until the actual movie is corrected. That said, it is wondrous how Reinhardt pulled off his takeover of the Cygnus.
- Frank McCrae’s fate. Yes, we know that Maximilian killed Frank during the mutiny but the details are left out. On top of that, there’s been quite a bit of debate about Frank McCrae’s actual identity aboard the ship. Some say that he was the silver robot on the probe craft. Others say that he was the unmasked humanoid and that the script and/or novel addresses this (I never read it though). Then there’s equally absurd theories of Maximilian being part Frank without any clear affirmation. No matter what, I think the audience (and Kate) are owed a proper explanation of Frank’s demise.
- How Bob managed to survive after the mutiny. Obviously, all the robots on the Cygnus detest him and bully him. Reinhardt treats Bob as a literal garbage can. But if he’s considered worthless, why is he kept around?
- STAR. We get such a brief scene with a robot that has a lot of hype but does almost nothing. He’s played for laughs obviously but Bob’s description of STAR makes him seem like a far bigger deal than what we see.
- Maximilian’s origin story. We know he’s the upgrade for STAR but why is Maximilian different from the rest of the robots? Yes, visually we can tell he’s the devil but that still doesn’t explain why he was created. Why did Reinhardt need Maximilian? When was he created (outside of after STAR)? Did he have anything to do with the disposal of the crew?
- Reinhardt’s madness. It’s obvious that Reinhardt had a big ego and was bombastic even before taking over the Cygnus. Booth points a lot of this out. So we know a little bit ahead of time in terms of what to expect from Reinhardt. But we don’t know why he ended up doing what he did. We don’t even know why he became obsessed with black holes nor how he ended up believing traveling through a black hole would be like receiving the power of a god or having immortality.
- Re-establishing the romance subplot between Kate and Dan. The individual characters have almost no depth to them. They fulfill a type you might see. That said, the romance subplot is something that was cut from the movie and adds enough to provide a reason why Dan saves Kate despite the threat of being trapped on board the Cygnus. Considering that Dan had been the most pragmatic character in the movie, him rushing to save Kate makes no sense without the subplot.
- Establishing more of Reinhardt’s interest in Kate. I have theorized that Reinhardt had a sexual interest in Kate but that detail was removed when the romance subplot was deleted. There are deleted scenes illustrating Kate being tender towards Reinhardt. Also, Reinhardt, up until Kate’s denouncement, behaves favorably towards Kate in a creepy manner. The non-movie media establish that Reinhardt wants to keep only Kate and Vincent alive during his “liquidate our guest” mandate but his reasoning is due to their ESP link. However, that won’t make sense because the Palomino crew would be dead and not be able to transmit any news back to earth if the sentries were successful. So converting Kate into a cyborg that Reinhardt could command would only make sense if his interest was sexual. And I am firm in saying this because we do not know if the Cygnus crew had any females aboard. Given Reinhardt’s eccentricity, I can only guess that part of that was due to not having human companionship.
- Establishing more of Kate and Alex’s relationship. While in the novel and other non-movie sources establish the romantic relationship between Kate and Holland, we do not receive much about Kate and Alex’s relationship. They are the only two actual scientists on the Palomino. According to one of the wikis, Kate is considered a junior astrophysicist where I assume Alex is the senior and conducting the bulk of the experiments. Nonetheless, Kate is closest to Alex amongst the Palomino crew after Dan but only as a professional colleague and friend. But how far does that go back? Why is Kate concerned about Alex staying aboard the Cygnus?
- Giving Pizer a bigger identity. Pizer is a bizarre 5th wheel character to me. He’s a cross between a Luke Skywalker type along with Han Solo. But he only has one key moment if you think about it where he saves Kate, Holland and the robots when they’re trying to return to the ship. Other than that he’s a verbal punching bag for Vincent. Also, when the remaining crew of the Palomino escape on the probe ship, what is Pizer supposed to do? Honestly, if he died, it would’ve felt a little better because he’s not a crucial character to the plot.
- Expanding the hospital dynamic. Given how large of a role the hospital plays into the core of the plot, it’s given very little screen time. Yet the set alone is huge and quite elaborate looking. I estimate that the total screen time of the hospital set might be no more than 3-4 minutes tops and that’s between the two scenes it’s given. Yet there’s so much mystery behind it. How does the operation work? Why do the humanoids come back for additional treatment? How the fuck does one of those humanoids even get into that central seat where there’s no apparent entry without stepping above the rotating table?
- More on Kate being taken prisoner. It’s just so rushed and when Holland comes to rescue her in the nick of time, it’s absurd given how he shoots the laser just as it’s hitting her head. I can go on about that scene but too much is required to fix it to make it coherent. There’s stuff like how Kate is bound as she’s taken to the hospital on that air car or how she’s put into that silver bag that needs to be shown.
Updated Elements:
- The black hole itself needs a complete upgrade from being just a simple whirlpool/vortex. I know Interstellar did a decent job but it shouldn’t just be presented as a rotating thing in the middle of space that suddenly is detected out of nowhere.
- The lack of space suits whenever the crew encounters space directly. Either that or ensure that the ship has some sort of atmosphere. But Pizer floating off into the black hole with only a jumpsuit? Might as well just kill him off right there.
- The robots especially Vincent and Bob. Most people think Maximilian and the sentries are pretty bad ass but the cutesy robots need a reformat. No one questions that.
- The pacing. The movie is very schizophrenic in trying to decide what it ought to be. On the one hand, you have a mystery/gothic type of movie that moves at a snails pace. Just to get to the point where Alex is killed takes over half the movie. Too much was spent wastefully just watching Vincent rotating to keep parallel with the camera. But once Alex is killed the pacing rushes where things switch to space opera and move too fast like the hospital rescue scene which gets 2 minutes at best. Likewise, the ending receives far too long of a treatment. Yes, there needs to be a pay off for entering the black hole but what we got was a wannabe Kubrick 2001 combined with attempted to satisfy the religious right to explain science. That whole part needs to go based on economy alone.
- More pathos for the cyborg humanoid crew. The humanoids ought to have more sorrow for their fate but I feel distant because of the lack of depth. There’s one part in particular that I hate which is when Holland searches the crew’s quarters. We don’t get close ups of one person’s room where Dan examines the crew member’s personal items nor do we get any emotional or audio response from Dan. He later calls them “poor creatures” but never seems to actually care about them. It’s obvious that the humanoid crew have gone through hell and must endear but you can’t really get attached to them by the way they’re presented.
- Alex’s fate. One thing I would alter is not having Maximilian shred him. To do that you’d have to add blood and guts and it’s too over the top for me. I’d prefer Maximilian to shoot him like in the non-movie versions. I think Anthony Perkins gave a once in a lifetime gurgle scream that should be left immortalized because it’s Anthony Perkins. But Durant’s death shouldn’t be bloody.
- The probe ship. Way too fucking small. I think it was done this way so that the end shot with the dizzying rotating sphere effect could be shot. There’s better ways to handle that type of motion these days but the real problem is that the probe ship simply was too tiny for that crew. Where’s the food? How much oxygen does it have? Even if they managed to escape before the Cygnus entered the black hole, how would they survive in such a tiny craft?
Removed Elements:
- The ending heaven vs hell trope. Completely unnecessary and while understandably done in that manner originally does not make sense. It simply left too many questions and made the movie even more implausible. Not to mention it dragged on for no good reason. If you want to use symbolic language to reference Reinhardt and to a lesser degree Maximilian’s fate, there’s far better ways that are more practical. Heck, redo the Abyss where Michael Biehn falls into the depths and gets crushed. It doesn’t have to be exaggerating and lengthy to still be shocking and relevant not to mention karmic.
- The meteor scene. I know it’s become iconic but it makes no sense in the present context. There’s better ways of handling a major haul breach. But obviously, they wanted to do this for dramatic effect. It’s just a bad scene in general.
Retained Elements:
- The Cygnus craft. Let’s be honest and say that the craft was gorgeous. If there’s one thing that they did absolutely correct, it was the design of the ship. No one can doubt my statement here.
- The Palomino. This is one of those things that I didn’t was done poorly. The interior is small but the exterior design is fine to me. I just think that the interior architecture does not permit enough living space for a crew even of that size.
- Most of the story elements. Believe it or not the base story isn’t bad. Outside of the bad science, the core story works well enough. The problems mostly occur in terms of the pacing as well as needing more character development. The plot itself works well enough to not require too much changing.
- The hospital rescue scene. This needs to be nearly the same. I would make it longer as well as probably make it longer to include deleted scenes like Kate being escorted inside as well as maybe more of a lead up with Holland rather than him bursting right in. But the visual elements I would mostly keep the same. Yes, the foil and silver bag stay.
At any rate, I think this is a good start/template for my version of a remake of The Black Hole.