Clue Movie Reboot

[Murder by Death]

But Hasbro isn't just licensing the property; their film division is also producing the movie. Depending on how much they're financially contributing to this, they could have substantial influence over the screenplay & final cut.

Which isn't necessarily a good thing. Last time Hasbro tried to put Clue on screens, we got that abandoned series on their (also abandoned) Hub Network.

Hopefully they'll just help finance it without any creative power. It does seem very likely, if this really gets off the ground & if Hasbro is directly involved, Dr. Orchid will be making an appearance. She's vaguely Asian, and Hollywood is still under a lot of pressure to diversify its casting opportunities.

It's unfortunate Orchid, as she's described in the game, is also about as stereotypically Asian as she can be. Since every Clue character is a stereotype, to some degree, maybe it won't matter.

None of that will matter if they just remake the original movie. Updated period & plot points wouldn't make it a good idea. If anything, that would just be a waste of time, and a massive missed opportunity to utilize the blank canvas the game offers, creatively.

Sorry, I'm a bit confused. I read in Variety and Deadline that Fox is producing with Reynolds company, along with Habro's co-producing. It's not like Marvel being distributed by Disney. Fox will have a lot more to say about it than Hasbro did with a self-produced series for their own network.

Orchid may or may not be included, but I wouldn't necessarily assume she'll replace White, regardless of the story. My guess is Fox wouldn't allow that.

I agree I'd rather see them produce a completely different film than the 1985 classic, and I didn't mean to imply a re-make would be a good idea, merely that it doesn't have to be a bad idea. Hollywood plays it safe, so we take what we can get sometimes. The 1985 movie is well known now, and I can see Fox wanting to capitalize on that. Remember Fox thought a live version of their ROCKY HORROR film property on their network was a good idea too. My point is that it doesn't necessarily have to be a terrible thing. Hmmmm. Would Reynolds play Wadsworth if so? That might make it terrible.

[Michael]

I’m open to a new film but not a remake.

Look how awful the play turned out to be...

[PeachFreak]

http://www.mtv.com/news/3077427/ryan-re ... e-r-rated/

Not a ton of new info besides some talk of a potential R-rating. Bigger death set pieces or Mrs. Peacock spewing obscenities? Will be interesting to see where it takes the film tonally, for sure.

[Murder by Death]

http://www.mtv.com/news/3077427/ryan-re ... e-r-rated/

Not a ton of new info besides some talk of a potential R-rating. Bigger death set pieces or Mrs. Peacock spewing obscenities? Will be interesting to see where it takes the film tonally, for sure.

Ugh. This is NOT what Clue needs.

[alwaysPeacock]

To be fair, the MPAA is so strict these days, smoking will immediately earn a film a PG-13 rating, and a minimum of 2 F-bombs bumps the movie up to an R. That's how the best almost Cluedo movie ever made, Gosford Park, earned its Restricted stamp.

So the new Clue wouldn't *need* to be gratuitous toilet humor, skin tight violence, and swearing just for the ***** of it to get the R ...

... but I'm getting the impression that's what the writers want it to be ... so ***** ...


I wish everyone involved with this thing wasn't approaching it with REMAKE in mind. The game itself is a brilliant blank canvas for creative interpretation. Sure, some references to the original film to make us "Clue hounds" go Ah-ha are fine, but if this international, thriller, crap whatever has a Wadsworth, it'll be hopeless.

Even Hasbro's aborted TV series was a better attempt that this new film sounds like it will be. Maybe the shallow CLUE Houses theme should be resurrected & taken for another spin ...

The absolute WORST part of this, though? This new movie will get all the tie-in merchandise the original film deserves.

[Lord Caspen]

alwaysPeacock,

The absolute WORST part of this, though? This new movie will get all the tie-in merchandise the original film deserves.

No kidding. They would have gotten a lot of mileage out of a limited-edition artwork update with the movie house, weapons, and characters. In order to accommodate Yvette, and especially Wadsworth, they might have done well to add suspects, and maybe there could have been rule changes to tailor the experience. Don't know what those would be, just saying.

Of course, plush dolls of the suspects would be fun.

Question for everyone:
What other merchandise do we think would have sold?

[CluedoKid]

Maybe the shallow CLUE Houses theme should be resurrected & taken for another spin ...

I never seen the Hub series yet in spite of owning it, but that Classic Mystery game with the Houses concept is one route I'm happy to see remain dead in the water.

[Murder by Death]

To be fair, the MPAA is so strict these days, smoking will immediately earn a film a PG-13 rating, and a minimum of 2 F-bombs bumps the movie up to an R. That's how the best almost Cluedo movie ever made, Gosford Park, earned its Restricted stamp.

So the new Clue wouldn't *need* to be gratuitous toilet humor, skin tight violence, and swearing just for the **** of it to get the R ...

... but I'm getting the impression that's what the writers want it to be ... so **** ...


I wish everyone involved with this thing wasn't approaching it with REMAKE in mind. The game itself is a brilliant blank canvas for creative interpretation. Sure, some references to the original film to make us "Clue hounds" go Ah-ha are fine, but if this international, thriller, crap whatever has a Wadsworth, it'll be hopeless.

Even Hasbro's aborted TV series was a better attempt that this new film sounds like it will be. Maybe the shallow CLUE Houses theme should be resurrected & taken for another spin ...

The absolute WORST part of this, though? This new movie will get all the tie-in merchandise the original film deserves.

I just don't see Ryan Reynolds taking the new film more conservatively than the original. Add to that the sophomoric comedy he seems to find entertaining, it's a given that the new Clue will be fairly ribald, if not obscene compared to the original.

I agree they should wipe the slate clean and start from scratch, but they're partially counting on the original movie's fans to fill those theater seats.

But I'm not sure we'll see the kind of merchandising you think. I still don't think Hasbro will offer a Clue game based on the movie -- the cost of doing that makes it prohibitive, or Parker Bros. would have done it originally -- those rules haven't really changed with respect to likenesses of the characters. At least not a standard game. The only way to do it is to make the game cost $40+, as USAopoly does with their licensed, branded editions, and even then, there's not a lot of money in it for anyone considering the expense of tooling up for a good custom game. As it is, you don't get a lot with those editions. The Winning Moves UK editions are even worse.

Will there be action figures and toys? Hard to imagine for a mystery/comedy. But stranger things have happened. I'm thinking more branded c o c ktail glasses, and the like. But who knows. Maybe bobble-heads, but count me out.

[alwaysPeacock]

Maybe the shallow CLUE Houses theme should be resurrected & taken for another spin ...

I never seen the Hub series yet in spite of owning it, but that Classic Mystery game with the Houses concept is one route I'm happy to see remain dead in the water.

That game's backstory is the entire "mystery" of the Hub series, right down to the emblems for each house. Presumably future seasons would have explored the idea further, as the ending is blatantly set up for a follow-up. Personally, I never thought it was a completely horrible concept. It was just never fleshed out, so in the game & Hub series it just feels hollow.

MBD, you forget Hasbro is one of the producers for this new movie. They've probably already covered all the necessary legal bases for them to produce a tie in edition of the game when the time comes. They did the Star Wars Clue game, and even have a Stranger Things branded Ouija board on the market, so it's not entirely out of Hasbro's realm to produce their own themed games (which are far more prevalent today than in the '80s, which is probably why a 1985 Clue the Movie game was never produced. That, and it bombed at the box office).

[Murder by Death]

MBD, you forget Hasbro is one of the producers for this new movie. They've probably already covered all the necessary legal bases for them to produce a tie in edition of the game when the time comes. They did the Star Wars Clue game, and even have a Stranger Things branded Ouija board on the market, so it's not entirely out of Hasbro's realm to produce their own themed games (which are far more prevalent today than in the '80s, which is probably why a 1985 Clue the Movie game was never produced. That, and it bombed at the box office).

Right, to clarify, my point was they couldn't afford to make the movie game THE standard Clue edition. Star Wars sells for $25, and looks kind of cheap. Also, I noticed there's a weird lack of specificity on the cover. It looks like Luke, Han and Leia, but is it just enough different to avoid paying them royalties? And finally, their likenesses are not used in the game as cards. The characters are only represented as pawns, but are not actually part of the solution. So right there, they've eliminated a major source of cost for the game. This is a flat out license of trademark copyrights, no talent. And that game didn't trade on the characters in the new movie, it's centered around the original which may have its own different terms from 40 years ago.

The standard edition is $10. In 1985, Hasbro updated the game, presumably to tie in with the movie launch. It was essentially the 1972 game with the photography rendered as a painting. The net effect was to eliminate the specificity of the photographs and give the effect of the movie characters, without having to pay any of the talent. This may have been an afterthought on the part of Parker Bros. And Waddingtons. But it's hard to imagine they weren't already planning for the update given the lead time necessary in those days before computers, and chose to go with the least expensive route without any idea how poorly the movie would do at the box office.

So I wasn't saying Hasbro wouldn't produce their own themed games, just that they probably wouldn't produce a new standard game to tie into the movie, and if they do, it'll be more like the 1986 edition with it's open-for-interpretation artwork. More than likely they will just do a special edition for the movie like Star Wars or the Simpsons, keeping any profits to be had for themselves, but it's still going to cost $25 or likely more, given that they're obligated to pay royalties for the likeness of the actors -- something that can't really be negotiated below a certain point. The USAopoly games demand a higher price, in large part due to the brand licenses to both Hasbro and the studios, but also to the talent royalties.

That said, what a great opportunity to make an expanded MD-type edition to include (assuming it's based on the 1985 characters), Wadsworth, Yevette, and/or the Cook, Cop, Motorist and Singing Telegram Girl. Of course that also means a lot more royalties paid to a lot more actors! But it would make the higher price tag worth it.

Since this will apparently be a more adult movie, there not likely to be a lot kid, or family oriented tie-ins though. I'd be curious to see how much Deadpool marketing there is to kids, or if it's all higher-end adult collectibles. EDIT: evidently Hasbro has a fair amount of Deadpool merchandise (including a Monopoly game!?). I'm surprised considering it's an R rated movie. Go figure.

[Murder by Death]

And this is why I’m worried about what Fyan Reynolds is going to do with Clue ...

The actor, who just released Deadpool 2 with the studio, will produce the comedy about a 20-something stoner who, after missing the plane for his holiday ski trip, gets high and becomes paranoid that people are breaking into his house. While high, he tries to thwart the thieves who have actually, really broken into his house. The would-be R-rated comedy is a riff on the 1990 classic Home Alone.