Before you get all upset (like I did) about the lack of original ideas in Hollywood or the fact that we haven't reached the point of saturation for reboots yet, keep in mind that a remake of the 1990 Joel Schumacher film Flatliners has been in the works for a few years now. The bad news for folks who hate reboots is that Ellen Page is now being reported as being in talks to join the newly reimagined sci-fi project. Page is great; this just means the film is one step closer to becoming a real thing.

Variety brings word that Page may star in director Niels Arden Oplev's version of Flatliners, likely stepping into the role previously played by Julia Roberts if the gender divide and characters are kept the same. Also starring Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, Oliver Platt, and William BaldwinFlatliners centered on a team of medical students who were experimenting with near-death experiences in order to get a glimpse of the other side. Once revived, they find that they inadvertently begin to bring their sins with them in very real, but very different manifestations.


ellen-page-super

I'll admit, Flatliners had an interesting premise, one worthy of Clive Barker's imagination, but Schumacher's take didn't make a great impression on me. Perhaps Arden Oplev, best known as director of the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, will be able to take advantage of modern-day filmmaking technology to better bring Flatliners to life ... so to speak. It will be interesting to see if Page, who has similar experience playing a character who dives into various dream worlds in Christopher Nolan's Inception, officially signs on for the role; more interesting still is what kind of character the filmmakers have crafted for her. She recently starred in both the sci-fi drama Into the Forest, and the gay rights biopic Freeheld.

Watch the trailer for the 1990 version of Flatliners below, which features one of the best taglines you'll ever here:


For more on the Flatliners remake, be sure to check out our coverage provided at the links below:


flatliners-poster-1990