The Crow/The Naked Gun star Danny Huston: You can’t try to reinvent classics

Last Updated on June 3, 2024

Danny Huston has quite a slate of movies coming up, including this summer’s The Crow and next year’s The Naked Gun. Notice anything about those titles? As we know, they’re remakes/reboots, with both facing immediate skepticism from fans of the originals who were all too aware that it’s impossible to live up to these classics. So, too, is Danny Huston, who has thoughts on how remakes should be done.

On the topic, Danny Huston told ComicBook.com that filmmakers should be responsible in their purpose for tackling a remake or reboot. “What I find challenging is, in a way, the idea of remaking something that’s already good. It’s like you kind of don’t want to touch it. You want to leave it alone. I remember my father saying, ‘Why are we remaking good movies? We should be remaking the bad ones and make them good.’” It should be noted that Huston’s old man, John, started off his career with a remake; but following his own wisdom, The Maltese Falcon was a remake of a 1931 movie (itself adapted from Dashiell Hammett’s book) so forgettable many of you might not have known it even existed.

Danny Huston continued, “So that’s where you’re cautious. And yet you have to kind of reinvent it. You can’t imitate it. But you’re inspired by it and that’s the tough balance to get.”

Both The Crow and The Naked Gun are classics of their genres, so uproar and raised eyebrows were expected. The former has been on the receiving end of the most hate, while many questioned if Liam Neeson could truly handle the spoof reboot. Danny Huston’s roles in both have not been disclosed at this point.

Danny Huston raises a pretty good point about reinvention. Sure, nobody wants their favorite movies touched or remade in any way, but if there can be a significant improvement or further exploration of the story – like, say, in the case of The Maltese Falcon – then it might be worth it. Taking a look at another remake Huston starred in, 2010’s Clash of the Titans, one could argue that no matter how charming the Ray Harryhausen work in the 1981 original is, the effects could have used some updating for modern audiences. It’s just too bad the entire movie ending up sucking…

What do you think of Danny Huston’s comments? Do you agree or disagree? Let us know in the comments section below.