"The Plane! The Plane!" That's the familiar catchphrase from the popular series Fantasy Island and now we will possibly get to hear it all over again. It has been announced that Roselyn Sanchez has been set to headline a reboot on Fox and the show has already received a straight-to-series order from the network.
Set to make its debut on August 10, 2021, Sanchez will be playing Elena Roarke, a descendant of the original series' Mr. Roarke, who was played by Ricardo Montalbán. According to the official synopsis, Fantasy Island is set at a luxury resort, where literally any fantasy requested by guests is fulfilled, although they rarely turn out as expected. The resort is run by Elena Roarke (Sanchez) who set aside her own ambitions, and even the love of her life, to uphold her family's legacy. The series also stars Kiara Barnes and John Gabriel Rodriquez.
The new version of Fantasy Island will maintain the semi-anthological format of the original series with the three main characters played by Sanchez, Barnes, and Rodriquez, who live and work on the island and new guests that arrive in every episode. The original show premiered in 1977 and was created by Gene Levitt and executive produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg. In addition to Montalbán, the series also starred Hervé Villechaize as his assistant Tattoo. The show ended its run in 1984 after seven seasons and 152 episodes as well as two TV movies.
For some reason, this IP keeps getting the resurrection treatment. In 1998, a one-season revival of the series premiered on ABC starring Malcolm McDowell as Mr. Roarke. Also, in an inspired but ultimately disappointing move, the concept was given the horror movie treatment when Blumhouse turned the idea into a supernatural horror film. The film starred Michael Pena as Mr. Roarke while supporting roles were filled by Lucy Hale, Maggie Q, Austin Stowell, Jimmy O. Yang, Ryan Hansen, Portia Doubleday, and Michael Rooker. While the film received extremely negative reviews and earned some Razzie Nominations along the way, the film proved successful at the box office with a global gross of $48.8 million on a $7 million budget.
Will YOU be watching the new Fantasy Island? See what fantasies come true when the series premieres on Fox on August 10, 2021.