The Princess Bride, the adored and classic 1987 fantasy adventure film, is being remade by the streaming service Quibi. Quibi has had its fair share of ups and downs, mainly downs, in it’s quest to introduce a short video streaming platform and is looking to rely on more well-known brands to heighten their success. Like all the platform’s content, the remake will be in short episodic chapters, which could work well with the narrative framing of the original.
The remake, which was filmed in a pandemic friendly manner, will be have its chapters premiere every day for two weeks on the fledgling platform, beginning Monday, June 29. The remake looks to shake things up for the 21st century, gender flipping the main leads of the film, with Sophie Turner playing Westly and Joe Jonas playing Princess Buttercup respectively.
Other high profile Hollywood couples will make an appearance as well including Common and Tiffany Haddish, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, and Chris Pine and Annabelle Wallis. Other Hollywood stars like Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Garner, and Elijah Wood. Additionally, the original film’s director, Rob Reiner, will play the character of the ‘Grandfather’ and Fred Savage will reprise his role as the ‘Grandson.’
Fans of the original The Princess Bride are right to be upset a Hollywood as a whole has had problems with remaking original classics, but at least Quibi is attempting to do something different in a market starved for content in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.