A Taxi Driver reboot??? Over a year later we have an update!

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

UPDATE 2 – Over one year later, despite the reports below that this news was “rubbish,” we have confirmation that Martin Scorsese and Lars von Trier are teaming up for a film. The Hollywood Reporter confirms that Scorsese and Von Trier are working on a remake of THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS, which, as mentioned below, challenges a director to remake one of his own films. While the film Scorsese would be remaking has yet to be confirmed as TAXI DRIVER, it certainly seems likely as this portion of the news has finally been confirmed.

UPDATE – A spokesperson for Lars Von Trier finally addressed the rumors yesterday in Berlin and called word on Scorsese and Von Trier working on any kind of TAXI DRIVER project “rubbish.”

I think we have reached the absolute pinnacle of reboot stupidity. Keep in mind none of this is confirmed and should be taken as a rumor, but the fact that it’s even being talked about is kinda scary. Reports out of the Berlin Film Festival by Danish magazine Ekko reports that Martin Scorsese is in talks with Lars Von Trier about a follow-up to the classic 1976. It’s unclear whether it would be a reboot, sequel or prequel or what but Von Trier and Scorsese were both at the film festival allegedly talking about collaborating on the film.

Now that we have the rumor, let’s see if we can bust it up. While lots of people are reporting on what Ekko magazine says, no one has really gone to the source to figure out what’s what. I was able to track down the actual article from Ekko magazine and with a little help from Google Translate, we’ll try to figure out exactly what’s going on here.

In 2003, Von Trier challenged his friend Jørgen Leth to remake his favorite film, THE PERFECT HUMAN, five times each with a different obstacle outlined by Von Trier. For example, Leth must remake the film as animation or have it set in Cuba. The film films were edited together, along with behind-the-scenes footage and released as the documentary THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS. What Von Trier and Scorsese are discussing seems to be an extension of this experiment.

So while it seems that technically Scorsese might be working on some TAXI DRIVER things with Von Trier, I’d hardly expect it to be a “reboot.” When asked to comment, Peter Aalbaek Jensen, the head of Von Trier’s production company said, “we can not say anything.”