When Disney announced a reboot of “Home Alone” this past August, fans — and even Macaulay Culkin himself — eviscerated the studio for tinkering with the 1990 John Hughes Christmas classic. And after unveiling the film’s cast list, it ignited the online ire once again, Insider reports.
The holiday drama kicked off Wednesday after the House of Mouse announced it tapped Archie Yates (“Jojo Rabbit”) to play the lead role originally occupied by Culkin, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Yates will star alongside comedians Rob Delaney (“Catastrophe”) and Ellie Kemper (“The Office”) as his parents while Dan Mazer (“Dirty Grandpa”) is slated to fill the director’s chair.
Suffice it to say, nostalgic fans of the holiday comedy took the news like a paint can to the face.
“Why?? The original is perfect. Not everything needs a remake,” exclaimed one social-media scrooge. Another called it “the most pointless remake to date.”
One Twitter critic astutely observed how the original plot wouldn’t work in today’s tech-saturated world: “Because they’re rich, Kevin’s parents arrange for a Lyft to pick him up from home and Venmo him airfare to catch up with the rest of the family in Paris. #HomeAlone doesn’t need a remake because it doesn’t work in our time.”
To the film’s credit, the reimagined plot is rumored to differ from the ’90 original, per the Hollywood Reporter. Instead of an accidental latchkey kid defending his home from wacky thieves, the new flick will depict a couple going after a kid who has pilfered a priceless heirloom. Oh, and he’s not named Kevin McCallister.
Nonetheless, fans are clearly growing weary of Disney’s deluge of reboots. This past week alone, the entertainment juggernaut dropped trailers for reheats of both “Mulan” and “Ghostbusters” — although none have sparked as much bile as “Home Alone.”
Disney hasn’t given a release date for the holiday flick, which is set to air on Disney+.
Ref;nypost.com