‘Weird Science’ remake in the works says Joel Silver at CinemaCon

Universal Pictures and Silver Pictures will remaking Weird Science, the 1985 ultimate nerd wish fulfillment comedy that was written and directed by John Hughes.

The news came from CinemaCon that Joel Silver will be producing the film and Michael Bacall will write the script. He scripted the sleeper hit Project X for Silver Pictures. Bacall also wrote the script for 21 Jump Street, another 80s-centric property that became a hit for Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, which fans learned this week, will also be getting a sequel.

The legacy of John Hughes and his films is closely guarded by fans which began with screenwriting Mr. Mom and National Lampoon’s Vacation to director of teen-angst comedies like Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty In Pink and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

The original starred Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith as brainy nerds who attempt to create the perfect woman to fulfill their heavy-breathing adolescent fantasies, only to find she is something more than a sex object.

The original also starred Bill Paxton and Robert Downey Jr, with Kelly LeBrock, who played the bombshell.

It spawned a brief, failed attempt as a TV series.