‘Kiefer Sutherland’ Returns For ‘Flatliners’ Reboot

Kiefer Sutherland recently revealed that he is set to appear in Columbia Pictures remake of the 90’s cult classic Flatliners, but left fans of the original film to speculate as to the nature of Sutherland’s return.

Until now.

In an interview with Metro, the American actor confirmed that he will “play a professor at the medical university,” who is understood to be Nelson Wright, Sutherland’s character from the original film. “It is never stated but it will probably be very clearly understood that I’m the same character [-], but that I have changed my name and I’ve done some things to move on from the experiments that we were doing in the original film.“

“I loved making the first film,” added the Hollywood actor. “When I was asked if I would be interested in taking part in this, it didn’t take more than a minute to say yes.“

The Joel Schumacher directed original, which also starred Kevin Bacon, Julia Roberts, Oliver Platt and William Baldwin, received a mixed reception upon release but accrued $10 Million on its opening weekend before going on the gross $61.5 Million in the US alone.

Danish Director Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) is set the helm the reboot with former Vampire Dairies actress Nina Dobrev, Ellen Page (Inception), Diego Luna (Rogue One), James Norton (War & Peace) and Kiersey Clemons (Bad Neighbours 2).

Principal Photography for the reboot is underway in Toronto with Columbia Pictures citing a release of August 18, 2017.

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‘Flatliners’ Remake… With Kiefer Sutherland!!

 

The original Flatliners came out in 1990, starring Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin, Oliver Platt, and Kiefer Sutherland. These five play a group of medical students who consent to kill each other (from a medical and scientific perspective) and bring each other back to life. This is due to the obsession (or “interest,” as one of the characters huffily corrects another) with what happens when life is extinguished, and if there is actually anything after death. They each relive something that they view as a kind of sin from their past… and their guilt haunts and literally chases them throughout the movie.

(WARNING!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!)

Sutherland’s Nelson

Kiefer Sutherland’s character, Nelson, is the death-curious and fame-obsessed medical student who initiates this venture and convinces his classmates to assist him. The other four students take a bit of convincing, but they come around after a bit of coercion from Nelson. Nelson is the first to be killed and revived, and has nothing negative to say about his experience. Throughout the film, he pushes the others to explore more and more dangerous stretches of experimenting with brain-death and discovering what happens after life is extinguished. Once supernatural experiences start happening to the individual members of the group, angry blame is placed squarely on Nelson because he neglected to warn the others of the consequences of going under. At the end of the film, Nelson’s guilty conscience drives him to the edge of insanity, and he becomes convinced that the only way to “atone for his sins” is to die… again… ohh boy.

Modern Remake

Of course, Hollywood is remaking this film… in 2017. it seems all movies are remakes nowadays. And why not? I mean, they are remaking other classics: Ghostbusters, TMNT, Poltergeist, Total Recall, Pete’s Dragon, Annie… I wonder if they have simply run out of ideas in Hollywood or figure that with today’s technology, they should blow every thing up…. Who knows.

Ok, so we know they are remaking the Flatliners movie (directed by Niels Arden Oplev, written by Ben Ripley), this time starring Ellen Page, Nina Dobrev, Diego Luna, James Norton and Kiersey Clemons, among others. And it is rumored that Kiefer Sutherland is committed to the remake!! Schedules were worked out so Kiefer can do his TV series “Designated Survivor” and the film at the same time.  According to slashfilm.com, “he would play a seasoned doctor, but not sure if there will be any relation to the characters yet.”

Perhaps the new movie poster will look something like this???

 

So Now, Theory Time!

Will the filmmakers reference the original or build upon the original story? If Kiefer Sutherland does return in the remake, will he be an older version of the original Nelson? Will Sutherland’s character wish for the new generation to continue his experimental work, or possibly verify the original group’s findings, or help them deal with their own personal trauma? Or, possibly, will he be made into a brand new character? Will be a teacher or an authority figure for the new students who wish to experiment with death? Will he assist the new group of medical students in the new film in their near-death experiences, or tell a cautionary tale against it because of what he and his classmates experienced in the original??

Though I am not for all the remakes they are doing in Hollywood, I am curious as to what they will do with the remake; will they make it darker and scarier than the first? More blood? Gore? Change the story completely as they have with other movies (like Ghostbusters, for example.) Either way, I will have to see it. After all, I did enjoy the first one, so seeing the remake is a must.