Exclusive: Chris Evans Attached To Total Recall Remake
Steve Rogers refused to give up, and apparently so will Sony when it comes to rebooting this sci-fi classic. Our trusted and proven sources tell us Sony is once more remaking Total Recall, and this time Marvel alum Chris Evans is attached to lead the film.
We’ve exclusively learned Chris Evans is attached to another remake of the 1990 classic Total Recall.
The very fact that Sony Pictures wants Chris Evans or anyone else for a remake of Total Recall may understandably make you wonder if “total recall” is something the studio lacks. Their first attempt to force lightning into striking twice was in 2012 with the remake starring Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, and Bryan Cranston.
The reboot proved a critical and commercial flop; making far less than the original (with or without considering inflation), in spite of a production budget almost twice the original’s and releasing 22 years later.
It’s possible that Sony is banking on Chris Evans’s star power proving to be more of a draw than Colin Farrell’s. The role of Marvel’s Steve Rogers/Captain America elevated Evans from C-list star to Hollywood icon during his decade playing the superhero, and the studio may hope that he’s much better suited to fill the role originated by Arnold Schwarzenegger at the height of his fame.
Chris Evans, Streaming Star
Depending on when this new Total Recall remake hits theaters, it could prove to be Chris Evans’s first real test as an action blockbuster box office draw outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since making his final appearance as Steve Rogers in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, all of his leading live-action roles have been in streaming-only features with, at best, limited theatrical releases.
He joined Ryan Gosling and Ana de Armas for Netflix‘s The Gray Man, starred opposite De Armas once more for Apple TV+’s Ghosted, and most recently returned to Netflix for the crime drama Pain Hustlers. His next project scheduled to release, the action holiday flick Red One, will be an Amazon Prime Video exclusive. You’d almost think the guy is avoiding theatrical releases on purpose.
In the meantime Sony Pictures remains famously one of the few major film studios not attached to a streaming platform. Total Recall could be what tells us whether or not the goodwill Chris Evans built up as Captain America continues to translate into butts in seats.
The First Total Recall
The Total Recall that hit theaters in 1990 — adapted from the 1966 Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” — starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as its hero. Douglas Quaid is a construction worker whose experimentation with a company that offers the implantation of false memories reveals he’s truly a sleeper agent. His adventures take him to Mars, where he uncovers a vast conspiracy.
Springing largely from the criminally underappreciated genius of director Paul Verhoeven (Starship Troopers, RoboCop, Basic Instinct), Total Recall was a massive hit. The 2012 remake jettisoned, among other things, the partial setting of Mars and flopped at the box office.
Once we know more about Chris Evans’s shot at Total Recall, we’ll make sure to update you.
