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Logan’s Run To Be Remade With Female Lead

Those who were less than impressed by the plans for a gender-reversed reboot of ‘Ghostbusters’ had best look away now…

Another cult favourite from yesteryear is on its way to a remake, and following the example of Paul Feig, it seems the studio have decided the best way to breathe new life into the concept is to switch the original male lead for a woman.

Yes, Warner Bros are reportedly planning to rework sci-fi thriller ‘Logan’s Run’ into a female-led movie, according to The Tracking Board.

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Based on the 1967 novel by William F Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, ‘Logan’s Run’ was first adapted to the screen by MGM/UA in 1976 with Michael Anderson directing, and Michael York in the title role as Logan 5.

A dystopian fantasy, it centres on a seemingly idyllic future society where all citizens live out a pleasure-seeking lifestyle, with a catch: once they reach age 30, they are put to death, under the promise of a mystical ‘renewal.’

Logan’s job is to hunt down those who try to evade this fate - but when his own 30th birthday approaches he finds he too has doubts about renewal, and goes on the run himself, along with Jessica 6 (Jenny Agutter).

A remake of ‘Logan’s Run’ has been in development hell at Warner Bros since the mid-1990s, and the long list of directors attached over the years includes Bryan Singer, Joseph Kosinski, Carl Erik Rinsch, and most recently Nicolas Winding Refn, who would have directed Ryan Gosling and Rose Byrne in the lead roles.

While this new report from The Tracking Board does not name any potential directors or lead actresses, it does mention Paul Feig’s ‘Ghostbusters’ plans as potentially influential - and, perhaps more significantly, ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Divergent’ franchises, which have enjoyed huge box office success exploring similarly dark, overtly political subject matter with female characters in the lead roles.

There’s no reason to assume a new version of ‘Logan’s Run’ couldn’t work with Logan recast as a woman, although it does raise concerns that, in the midst of all the ‘Hunger Games,’ ‘Divergent’ and ‘Maze Runner’ movies, this could simply wind up just another YA sci-fi thriller in much the same vein - particularly if they stay closer to the original novel, in which the citizens are ‘renewed’ at 21.

We might also ponder whether a modern take on ‘Logan’s Run’ would retain the sexual elements of the earlier film, which - although a PG at the time - boasts fairly abundant nudity, and is well-remembered by many for Jenny Agutter’s very skimpy costume.

How do you feel about the idea of a female-led ‘Logan’s Run?’ Let us know below.

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Picture Credits: MGM-UA/Warner Bros