My Eyes Didn’t Deserve This

Graphic by Emma Novy

It looks like slop. Why does that kid look AI generated? How is this more loyal to the books? God, Tom Felton is never going to shut up about this. 

These thoughts ran through my head as I sat on the train to New York City, cringing as I watched the trailer for the HBO Harry Potter remake. Everything good about the movies seemed to be lost, faded into a drab color palette. 

Refrain from labeling me as a “Harry Potter adult.” I was born months after the 5th book was released and was a child long after millennials tattooed lightning bolts on their wrists and put “Gryffindor!” in their Twitter bios. 

As a young girl who grew up watching the movies, carrying the 10 pound hardcover book copies to classes and writing scandalous fanfiction, I am ultimately someone who despises change. Especially when that change is unneeded and simply too soon.  

Remakes and reboots of movies and TV shows are becoming increasingly common in Hollywood. Live-action Disney remakes have taken the box offices by storm, frequently grossing hundreds of millions of dollars. 

Hollywood seems to be stuck in a constant loop. The formula now is find a good movie from decades ago, replicate it in a lazier way and make millions off of it. These remakes are intended to be almost identical to the original, yet they lack everything that made it so good.

Laziness in Hollywood

Remakes reject the entire concept of a creative risk. They are guaranteed money-makers for studios. They know people will recognize the title, remember how much they liked the original movie and either want to watch the remake out of curiosity or anger. 

It feels like a bunch of buffoons in one room, mouth-breathing as they try to come up with a movie idea. Suddenly someone shrugs and says, “Hey, what about another Cinderella?”

Syracuse University television, radio and film graduate student Benjamin Sax said that these remakes are common because they are easier “concept wise.”

“It’s easy to do, you don’t really have to think of a new idea,” he said. 

Despite this economic success, audiences have begun to criticize the increasing capacity of movie remakes. A 2019 study found that audiences favored the original movie to the remake more than 90% of the time. 

A large reason as to why movie remakes are met with such disdain is due to the lack of creativity, “ruining” the original story and because it all feels like one big money grab from a greedy corporation. 

What the Movies Lack

Syracuse University television, radio and film graduate student Joe Simile said that when remakes are made, it has to do a lot with nostalgia. People are fond of movies they loved as a kid. These were typically movies watched over and over again, with Christmas presents dedicated to the movie’s merch or Halloween costumes replicated after a favorite character. 

Simile said that it’s obvious that some production companies are missing the mark when it comes to rediscovering this nostalgia.

Many directors attempt to rediscover what made the original movie so magical. They try to create a new nostalgic piece in the name of nostalgia, but then leave out everything that makes it nostalgic. Instead of fresh ideas, they try to replicate what has already been successfully done. The original charm is struggling. 

“Nostalgia is great, but it’s really hard to capitalize on it with something new in a way that feels genuine,” Simile said. 

Many horrible remakes such as the 2025 “Snow White” show just how boring and unnecessary these remakes can be. Horrific computer-generated imaging, ugly costume choices and terrible acting squashed everything that made this story magical. This movie faced immense backlash and was turned into one giant meme. 

Gal Gadot single handedly destroyed this movie. I’ve seen better high school theater productions. Someone free Rachel Zegler from this apparent curse of working with horrid co-stars.

This movie was never needed. It felt like a humiliation ritual for everyone involved. 

Boring Faces 

Another issue occurs when classic works of literature, or old movies, are remade and lose the plot. The “Wuthering Heights” remake this year came under fire when audiences pointed out that it lacked any genuine understanding of the original work. 

Some people have what I refer to as an “air fryer face.” This is a person who looks like they know exactly what an air fryer is. In other words, they look too modern to convince me they’re a person living in the 1800s. The average English man in the 1800s was 5’5” to 5’6”. Why would they cast the 6’5” Jacob Elordi? In reality, they would’ve put him in a circus and had him throwing barrels. 

These actors with thousands of dollars worth of botox are flooding our screens. It’s almost impossible to find a new, fresh face in Hollywood. Recycled actors are exhausting and are used to lure people to a movie remake. More people are tempted to go if they recognize the face on the movie poster. 

Give us Something New…Please 

The problem isn’t poor writing, you can find amazing stories written by 14-year-olds on Wattpad. The issue stems from greedy giants who want to rake in easy dollars rather than take a chance on a new idea. They let AI rewrite classics and shove overused actors in front of a green screen for an easy buck. 

The 2019 version of Little Women is an example of a good adaptation. The director Greta Gerwig sat with this story, got to know the characters and made it her own. This wasn’t the same story told before, it told the iconic story in a fresh way that made it feel new. We were able to receive the same story but also discover new pieces ignored in previous remakes. 

Audiences need to be trusted when it comes to what they want. When an entire fanbase is screaming not to remake something they love, leave it alone. When people demand new, though-provoking content, assemble a new team of writers. 

“There’s so many wonderful writers out there,” Simile said. “There’s a big problem right now in the industry where well respected writers can’t get any work right now.”