‘Logan’s Run’ being turned into movie franchise because reasons
Weird. I recently saw Logan’s Run for the first time, and it was a pretty fantastic dose of hallucinatory mid-70s science-fiction. I enjoyed it! However, at no point did the movie scream either “mass market!” or “movie franchise!” to me. But, what the fuck do I know?
Logan’s Run is an odd candidate for a remake. The title most immediately brings to mind the 1976 film starring Michael York and Jenny Agutter that looks like it was filmed in a ’70s shopping mall. Directed by Michael Anderson and adapted from a book by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, Logan’s Run takes place in a future where overpopulation and thinning resources have led to a society in which no one is allowed to live past 30. Now, not only is Warner Bros. trying to adapt the original book, they’re trying to turn all the books into a franchise.
Yes, we said “books.” There are five novel-length sequels and a short ebook, all of them written or co-written by Nolan, two of which remain unpublished. And it looks like Warner Bros. is thinking “franchise” if Simon Kinberg’s interview with Collider is to be believed:
It’s something that potentially is their Hunger Games kind of franchise that is about a younger audience for a younger audience with a big idea. And Logan’s Run, as you know, is the granddaddy of Maze Runnerand Hunger Games and so many of these books and movies now.
On one level, it sort of makes sense. One thing that’s been consistent about the franchise is that there’s a world well beyond Logan’s little bubble society. On the other hand, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out this remake has been in development hell for decades, and the other novels in the series feature, among other plot points, Logan going to an alternate reality with the help of aliens.