Difference Between Reboots and Remakes

These days, Hollywood's newest buzzword is "reboot." That isn't a reference to a button on your computer, at least, not in this case; it's a term for all these movies such as Batman Begins that reset a franchise back to stage one, continuing in a new direction.

This can be a bit confusing, of course. After all, everyone already knows what a remake is, so how are the two actually any different? Well, truth be told, they are very similar concepts and indeed, many people are guilty of using this new "reboot" word incorrectly. However, there is a difference between the two.

Let's start with the definition of a reboot. Basically, what a reboot does is wipe the slate clean, erasing all the old continuity like dust on an old chalkboard and starting fresh. The idea behind this approach is that in many cases, the continuity of a long-running series can become so muddled and incomprehensible that only the most hardcore fans can understand it anymore. In other cases, the original concept of and/or central character has been destroyed to the point where continuing forward is impossible. Some examples of reboots are the recent Star Trek movie, which did a quite literal reboot on the timeline to bring the storyline right back to the early days of Kirk, Spock and Bones. Casino Royale went back to 007's first mission. The pioneer of this approach is the aforementioned Batman Begins, which told the origin of the caped crusader.

In trying to differentiate between remakes and reboots, Batman might perhaps be the best example. It's tempting to call Batman Begins a remake of Tim Burton's original 1989 Batman - except, well, it isn't. The plots of both films are completely different. While both chronicle the beginning of Batman's costumed career, Tim Burton's film is really a movie about the character's battle against the Joker. Batman Begins, on the other hand, is squarely focused on telling the story of Batman's origin. The key point is that both movies are the start of separate franchises, only linked together by the source material their based on.

An example of an actual remake would be something like Rob Zombie's Halloween. Although Zombie's focus is different than the original movie - putting a magnifying glass on the childhood of serial killer Michael Myers instead of cutting forward to his later rampages - the movie eventually returns to the same story beats as the original film. Peter Jackson's 2005 King Kong is another remake, again following the original story but with a more modern approach.

This should hopefully clear up the problem. Of course, with more reboots and remakes coming out these days than ever before, one has to ask just how many times people are going to be willing to watch the same exact stories over and over again.