Jeff Kanew’s 1984 cult classic Revenge Of The Nerds is officially getting reboot. Seth Macfarlane will produce, while 22 Jump Street’s Kenny and Keith Lucas will star. When the reboot was first announced, there was speculation whether or not it will include the original film’s infamous and questionable sexual assault scene. It has since been confirmed that the reboot will cut out the scene, as well as other controversial scenes.
The original starred Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards as Lewis and Gilbert, two friends at Adams College, who take on the Alpha Betas, jock fraternity who bully them. The nerds take revenge by joining Lambda Lambda Lambda, a black fraternity. The movie was a huge hit when it was released in theaters, generated multiple sequels and was historical in the college comedy genre. Although the film series received great reviews at the time, many people believe that the film has not aged well. According to Screen Rant, original screenwriter Steve Zacharias said that he regrets how he wrote the film, and especially the assault scene: “I regret that. I’ve written a play for the musical and I eliminated the rape scene. I also regret the video scene. It would be goofy enough if they just did a panty raid and played it really nerdy”.
The scene in question is referred to as “rape-by-deception.” Lewis sees his crush Betty fighting with her jock boyfriend, Stan. Lewis then puts on Stan’s Darth Vader mask and fools Betty into having sex with him, thinking he is Stan. Betty is not upset when Lewis reveals himself in the end, but the scene has since received backlash for how Lewis is rewarded instead of punished for assault.
Seth Macfarlane stated that the reboot will be more of a reimagining that will focus on nerd and geek culture today; a more modern take on the original. Nerd culture has changed since the way they were stereotyped in the ’80s, so it is alluring to see how MacFarlane will showcase nerd culture today.
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