Labyrinth sequel in development - Variety report

[MrBloogarFoobly]

Yeah, they're making money, but where is it going? Not towards better projects. Towards Fraggle Rock animated spin-offs and other junk.

 

[Drtooth]

Henson is a small time company. While half the reason they haven't developed a movie is all them, they need a business partner to help release and partially fund a movie. The last 2 they had were completely useless. One just wanted to release crappy DTV CGI movies ripping off Shrek (all the while making dang well sure the Fraggle Rock film would never get made), the other did nothing but release some old JHC related specials that are now out of print. Their best partner is a comic book company. What does that tell you?

 

[Muppet Master]

Ya, I am not expecting much from the Jim Henson Company, all we ever get are those kid shows that no one has ever heard of, come on the R-rated or PG-13 puppet movie would be awesome, but no we never get any of that stuff.

 

[Drtooth]

Dinosaur Train was pretty successful. Doozers' problem is that no network would touch the darn thing, and it went to hulu as an exclusive. That really could have poured a little more interest into the Fraggles, but I don't know how kid's streaming is doing. Adult streaming (Arrested Development, House of Cards), that I understand.

Still, even if this was a lock and was fast tracked for the 2016 hoilday season or something, it's not a good idea. Labyrinth is a good film on its own, and if you interpret it the way I do (that it was all in Sarah's head the whole time, and she was subconsciously trying to gain some maturity), I don't think a sequel would work. If you interpret it as it really happened, even then it's a stretch. All I could see is a Hook-esque story about Sarah's kids or something. I don't think anyone wants to see that. I don't.

 

[minor muppetz]

Many people were reporting on Labyrinth sequel "news" because that's the one "in development" (NOT!) project mentioned that we didn't know about... But it seems we've all ignored the fact that it also mentions an Emmet Otter movie (probably not), which I had never heard of. Where's all the big news about that?

 

[Rachael]

While the 'news' has obviously been refuted now, I've found that the most striking thing about this little piece of drama is the way the news spread like wildfire. There's clearly an appetite for new Labyrinth material, yet the Jim Henson Company seems strangely reticent to oblige. It's odd, really. I do wonder if it's because they know the fanbase is very sensitive (the sequel manga they released a few years ago did not go down well, to put it mildly), but I doubt they'd let that get in the way of a potentially lucrative enterprise.

While the hardcore fanbase is vocal it's obviously limited; however, I do think the general public would probably be more receptive to a Labyrinth film now than audiences were in the 1980s. Female-led fantasy movies are really in vogue at the moment, and Labyrinth gained far more traction on home media than it ever did in cinemas. Incredibly, the film is #148 on the Amazon UK DVD and blu-ray chart - the puts it ahead of the Twilight, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings boxsets.

I'd say it's highly unlikely that either Bowie or Connelly would come back. For that reason, if there were to be a 'new' Labyrinth film I'd much rather it was just rebooted and they started afresh. A sequel of any kind without Bowie and Connelly would be practically pointless, in my opinion.

 

[Drtooth]

While the 'news' has obviously been refuted now, I've found that the most striking thing about this little piece of drama is the way the news spread like wildfire. There's clearly an appetite for new Labyrinth material, yet the Jim Henson Company seems strangely reticent to oblige. It's odd, really. I do wonder if it's because they know the fanbase is very sensitive (the sequel manga they released a few years ago did not go down well, to put it mildly), but I doubt they'd let that get in the way of a potentially lucrative enterprise.

The problem is that when a fanbase is hungry for a continuation, they will inevitably hate it no matter what they do to it. Even if the exact same people are involved on the exact same levels, it's never the same. You can give into the fans on every angle and they'll still hate you for it. I don't see a new Labyrinth movie meeting anything but disappointment and anger brought on by the very same fans who egged it on. And if it's a slight disappointment, it's apparently the worst thing ever made ever. Seriously. There's a difference between disappointing and legitimately bad. The way some would carry on about these movies (even the sequel to Tron, especially being a sequel to a movie that was legendary because it was a flop in the first place), you'd think they made Movie 43 or Jack and Jill. You know, something actually awful.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

My opinion on all this is that sequels (particularly sequels to iconic movies or series of movies that comes years later) never seem to live up to people's expectations. Of course, I realize that it's impossible to always please everyone- some people may love a movie and others may hate it- and both groups may be passionate fans of the original movie- but yes, there will always be those differences of opinions.
With a movie like "Labyrinth", I LOVE the 1986 classic film! It's a great, fun movie that I've seen a number of times. While I generally enjoyed the "Return to Labyrinth" manga series, I don't see the need for a sequel to this movie.
As someone else already said, it's highly doubtful David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly would return and even if they did- would it really work for the ages they are at now? (Not that they are that old necessarily, but Bowie is 67 and Connelly is 43)
And as Dr.Tooth mentioned- I don't want to see a "Hook"-like movie about Sarah's kids. (Though I do like "Hook" a lot, by the way.) What might work a lot better is the prequel or sequel or whatever it is to The Dark Crystal that has been talked about- in that one, you don't have the issue of age to deal with since no human characters are in the movie.
(Though even so, I'm still not sure that "The Dark Crystal" really needs any further movies either.)
Sometimes sequels have worked out really well and I've been really glad for them- I honestly didn't feel like a Toy Story 3 was needed, but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the movie and now feel like it's quite possibly the best of all the Toy Story movies. (Even so, I still don't know that we need to "wait for Tom Hanks to make Toy Story 4")
For another example of sequels to famous movie franchises that came years later down the road- "Rocky Balboa" and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" were both great movies to add to those movie series and I love both! (And for the record, I would love to see one more Indiana Jones movie with Harrison Ford starring as Indy- but the series probably needs to stop after that.)
Of course, the problem is that the companies are always wanting to make money- and dedicated fans are always going to go see the various productions just to check them out- and so the studios and companies keep cranking out sequels whether people really want them that much or not.
As long as there's a good possibility of making some money off a famous name brand.......
Case in point- I really don't feel there's a need to make Star Wars Episodes VII-IX, but apparently Disney is going to go through with this. The good news is that Harrison Ford is back as Han Solo, Carrie Fisher is back as Princess Leia and Mark Hamill is back as Luke Skywalker, along with Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Kenny Baker as R2-D2 and Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca- for those reasons, I will be excited to see Episode VII. And I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised- we'll see.

 

[Drtooth]

Yeah. Indiana Jones 4. I don't get the hate it gets either, but somehow it does. You'd think, like I said, they made Epic Movie or In-APP-ropriate Comedy instead of something that would have been a genuine slight disappointment because...well.. about two decades passed in between movies. it's not exactly going to be on the same level.

I don't think Labyrinth needs a prequel, sequel, midquel, or anything outside of a series of comic book stories, long or short hand. There is merit in a project that's entirely about Labyrinth's world. I just don't think it needs to be necessarily on film.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Exactly. Agreed.