Paul Verhoeven's STARSHIP TROOPERS is one of those movies that people either love or they hate; as for myself, you can put me firmly in the love group. Verhoeven's rough adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein's novel was deliciously satirical, completely over-the-top and filled to the brim with blood and guts, both of the human and insect variety. Several direct-to-video sequels followed but they couldn't hope to match what Verhoeven had pulled off with the original. A remake has been in development for a number of years and now THR is reporting that a new pair of screenwriters have signed up to bring STARSHIP TROOPERS back to life.
Columbia Pictures have tasked Mark Swift and Damian Shannon to pen the script for the STARSHIP TROOPERS remake which they're hoping will launch a new franchise. Swift and Shannon scripted both FREDDY VS. JASON and the FRIDAY THE 13TH remake, but it's their work on Dwayne Johnson's upcoming BAYWATCH reboot which attracted Columbia's attention. The reboot is said to be going back to the original Robert A. Heinlein novel for what will hopefully be an all-new take on the story. Verhoeven wasn't a fan of Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" novel, even going so far as to say that it made him "bored and depressed." There's a quote for your dust jacket.
I stopped after two chapters because it was so boring,…It is really quite a bad book. I asked Ed Neumeier to tell me the story because I just couldn't read the thing. It's a very right-wing book.
If they're going to be sticking more closely to Heinlein's novel, it's very likely that this new STARSHIP TROOPERS won't look or feel anything like Paul Verhoeven's, which I count as a good thing. I've typically got nothing against remakes, but when they're just carbon-copies of the originals, what's the point? If you must remake, give it a fresh spin. It doesn't always work, but at least you can stand apart from the original instead of living in its shadow.
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