Metropolis (1927)

Variety has just reported a planned remake of Metropolis. Producer Thomas Schühly, who gave a grateful world the Oliver Stone epic Alexander (as well as The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and The Name of the Rose), with production partner Mario Kassar has acquired the remake rights from the Vienna-based publishing group Sessler Verlag. There’s not much further information to go on – they’re still looking for a director is about all we know – but the chances are that like the original it’ll be German-based, as Schühly is located there. Whether it’s wanted or not is another question. What are they seeking to remake – the story, the iconography, the reputation, the robot Maria? How do you remake a vision of the future? Metropolis, like much great science-fiction, was a satire of the present. Surely a remake could only be an exercise in some strange form of nostalgia?