Differences between reboot, remake, reimagining - is my understanding correct?

Differences between reboot, remake, reimagining - is my understanding correct? - Box with Brain inscription on head of anonymous woman

I know that reboot is a term often used by the media to mean a comeback of a franchise from scratch, but is my understanding correct of the terms:

  • Reboot: To start again from scratch, all previous continuity/canon is null and void.

    • Hard reboot: None of the previous continuity is canon any more - entirely new canon

    • Soft reboot: Some of the previous canon/characters/continuity carry over to the new movie, but not all. Partially new, partially related to previous continuity.

  • Remake: Re-making the original film, with minimal or no changes.

  • Re-imagining: Similar premise as the original but different in some ways (e.g. Christmas Carol films, The March Sisters at Christmas (a remake of Little Women, as I understand it).

  • Alternate continuity: It's canon, but the continuity is different from the original. Not quite the same as a spin-off. (Transformers is about the best example I can think of, apart from Marvel/DC Comics).

Is my understanding correct?

I am aware that many film series can be continuity-heavy, e.g. Freddy vs Jason, Captain America etc.

Just checking to ensure my understanding is correct.



Best Answer

Remake: Re-making the original film, with minimal or no changes.

I'd say this is wrong. A remake carries the same general plot line, but is often very different from the original. Just thinking of movies like Total Recall (2012) or The Magnificent Seven (2016) (which is, in fact, a "re-imagining" of Seven Samurai (1954)) and they're very different from the original versions

Reboots are used for a series of films that will carry a storyline or characters across the series, as opposed to a remake which is the term used for a stand-alone film.

Re-imagining is when they loosely remake a movie, such as Seven Samurai/Magnificent Seven referenced above. Robinson Crusoe On Mars (1964) is another example of a re-imagining.




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What is the difference between a remake and a reimagining?

A remake tells the same story as the original but uses a different cast, and may alter the theme or change the story's setting. A similar but not synonymous term is reimagining, which indicates a greater discrepancy between, for example, a movie and the movie it is based on.

What is the difference between reboot and remake?

In general, the simplest way to remember the difference between a reboot and a remake is to remember that for a film to be a reboot, it should be resetting a chronology that's been established over multiple films. A remake is concerned with updating a single film, sometimes slavishly.

What is the difference between a reboot and a sequel?

A television series can return to production after cancellation or a long hiatus. Whereas a reboot disregards the previous continuity of a work, the term has also been used as a "catch all" phrase to categorize sequel series or general remakes due to the rise of such productions in the late 2010s.

What is the difference between a spin off and a remake?

Main Differences Between Spin-Off and RebootWhile the spin-off has the same characters, the reboot version has new and recreated characters. While spin-off runs parallel to the original version, a reboot is a new version of the old story.



The Difference Between a Reboot \u0026 a Remake




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