It is well observed throughout Hollywood that the film and television industry is fond of a reboot, with countless classics getting a do-over in recent times. According to Variety, the latest classic piece of Hollywood cinema that is set to get the reboot treatment is Easy Rider. The rights holders behind the counterculture classic starring Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda want to deliver a refreshed version of the iconic 1969 film to inspire a new generation of young moviegoers — it is understood the project is in early development.
The rights holders in question behind the project, originally released by Columbia Pictures, feature representatives from Kodiak Pictures, Defiant Studios and the Jean Boulle Group. Easy Rider, a two-time Oscar-nominated film, is considered a pivotal piece of American cinema history, coming off the back of Hollywood's Golden Age of Studio Pictures and introducing a new wave of films and filmmakers who questioned the establishment in the ensuing decade.
Starring the aforementioned Hopper and Fonda, who wrote the screenplay with Terry Southern with Hopper directing, along with jump-starting a certain Jack Nicholson's acting career, Easy Rider follows two Harley-Davidson riders, Wyatt (Hopper) and Billy (Fonda), riding across the USA to deliver cocaine in Southern California. The two main protagonists, now famous icons of the American hippie movement, embrace their subculture along their journey whilst clashing with others that don't appreciate their way of life.
With this new take on the old classic, one of the film's rights holders, Maurice Fadida of Kodiak Pictures, told Variety that “our goal is to build upon the counterculture and freedom narrative the original left us with, and give the youth of today a film that pays serious attention to their own countercultures and challenges,” Fadida then continued, saying how the themes of the original film can be applied to a new version with a new audience: “What the young viewers of today are experiencing in their everyday lives may seem crazy to older generations, but it can very well become the societal norm, as was the case with the cultural shift of the late 1960s. We are hoping to play a part in that shift.”
The producers behind the project are now looking for talented writers and directors willing to take on an Easy Rider remake. The task at hand looks tantalizing on paper, but also difficult, given the extraordinarily high bar set by the original movie.