Channing Tatum Remaking A Patrick Swayze Classic
Channing Tatum's production company Free Association has acquired remake rights to the 1990 film Ghost, starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg.
Channing Tatum is working on a remake of the classic fantasy romance film Ghost, which starred the late Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg. Per a recent interview in Vanity Fair, the Magic Mike’s Last Dance actor’s production company Free Association has acquired the rights to the hit 1990 film and is developing a new version of the film. It is not clear yet whether Channing Tatum will play the Patrick Swayze role in Ghost, but the actor seems open to the possibility.
Channing Tatum’s acting resume is not filled with remakes of popular films, so a new version of Ghost would be a new step for him. However, there seems to be a renewed interest in Patrick Swayze’s golden era of films, with Jake Gyllenhaal and Daniela Melchior set to star in a new remake of his 1989 action film Road House (with a previous one-man remake starring Chris Pratt). There was also a little-remembered 2015 remake of Swayze and Keanu Reeves’ Point Break starring Edgar Ramirez and Luke Bracey, which failed to make an impact at the box office or in cultural memory.
Ghost starred Patrick Swayze as a New York City banker with commitment issues to his clay potter girlfriend Demi Moore, and finds himself murdered in what seems to be a mugging gone wrong. Instead of ascending (or descending) to another plane of existence, Swayze’s character sticks around to hang out with reluctant psychic medium Whoopi Goldberg and uncover the conspiracy behind his death, while also learning how to manipulate the physical realm from a hostile subway ghost played by Vincent Schiavelli.
Channing Tatum and Patrick Swayze have often been compared to each other as actors, which makes Tatum filling in his role in a Ghost remake kind of obvious. Both actors are known for their chiseled good looks and for their dancing abilities, as well as their surprising comedic abilities. While it is far from certain that Channing Tatum will star in Ghost, it is hard to imagine a more appropriate modern actor.
However, before Channing Tatum and his production company get around to remaking Ghost, the star has a lot on his plate. First, Tatum will appear in the concluding entry in his and director Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike trilogy, alongside Salma Hayek (who has already noted the difficulty in performing “steamy” scenes with the actor). While the Magic Mike series has become shorthand for sexy male dancing scenes, the previous movies were also incisive commentaries on the 21st-century economy, so it will be interesting to see whether that comes up again.
Also interestingly, the Vanity Fair interview also revealed that Channing Tatum felt the story of Ghost needed some changes, citing “problematic stereotypes.” That is likely referencing either Whoopi Goldberg’s character, who is heavily coded as a “magical Black woman,” or Rick Aviles as the Latino street thug who murders Patrick Swayze’s character. Either way, it is certain that Channing Tatum and Free Association are bringing the story of Ghost back to theaters.
