Cliffhanger Reboot On The Way, But Without Stallone

Ordinarily I groan when hearing about yet another inferior reboot of a good movie, but Cliffhanger is the kind of concept that’s hard to mess up. The original 1993 thriller was pretty simple: there are lots of cliffs, and people hanging from them. You throw in bad guys and people who want to throw our heroes over the edge for the entire picture and you get a gripping evening. If you did it again and just stuck to the same elements, it should still work. Cliffhanger is also one of the more well-known pictures in the career of macho man Sylvester Stallone, and since the man is still kicking, it’s concievable he could play a part or at least a cameo…at least, that’s what one would think. But though there were initial plans to fit him in somewhere, a “creative overhaul” has resulted in his departure. They won’t get more specific than that. Lily James will do the cliff hanging this time, alongside Pierce Brosnan who’s playing her father. “Seasoned mountaineer Ray Cooper (Brosnan) and his daughter Sydney run a mountain chalet in the Dolomites,” reads the official description. “During a weekend trip with a billionaire’s son, they are targeted […]

How can they even call this a reboot when the original Cliffhanger never had sequels? To me, it seems more logical to market this as a sequel or even a standalone homage to the 1993 classic. A reboot implies reimagining a series or franchise that already has a continuation, which Cliffhanger doesn’t. If they positioned it as a sequel with a new storyline, it might resonate better with fans who still appreciate the original. Plus, framing it as a homage would allow the new film to draw inspiration while acknowledging the legacy Stallone left behind without direct comparison.

Why is Hollywood so obsessed with rebooting everything? The original Cliffhanger had a unique charm and the practical effects that director Renny Harlin talked about are precisely why it worked. It’s hard to replicate that authenticity with today’s reliance on digital effects. I hope Collet-Serra takes Harlin’s advice seriously and doesn’t drown the movie in CGI. While Lily James is talented, her casting in such a physically intense role is surprising. I’m interested to see how she fares, but I’m skeptical that this reboot will capture the rugged intensity of Stallone’s performance.

They should just call it a sequel set in the same Universe.

I’m all for reboots if they have something new to offer, but I’m cautious about this one. The original Cliffhanger was such a product of its time, with Sylvester Stallone perfectly embodying that '90s action hero vibe. It feels like reimagining it with a modern twist and a completely new cast might lose some of the essence that fans loved. The father-daughter storyline could be compelling, but it’ll need strong writing to stand on its own without feeling like a generic action movie. I’m reserving judgment until I see a trailer that convinces me otherwise.