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David Bowie's Labyrinth to be rebooted by Sony and people aren't happy

Guardians of the Galaxy co-writer Nicole Perlman is working on the script

Jack Shepherd
Sunday 24 January 2016 09:29 EST
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David Bowie in 1986 film, Labyrinth
David Bowie in 1986 film, Labyrinth

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UPDATE: The Labyrinth 'reboot' screenwriter has denied the film is a reboot. Read the full story here.

ORIGINAL: Not two weeks have past since David Bowie’s death and already a new Labyrinth film has been announced, rightfully angering fans around the world.

Jim Henson’s 1986 fantasy film was a miraculous work of art at the time, bringing together one of Britain’s biggest pop stars (Bowie), funniest comedians (Monty Python’s Terry Jones wrote the script) and America’s most magical director (Star Wars creator George Lucas was executive producers).

The film was a box office flop at the time, leading to Sesame Street puppeteer Henson leaving behind his career in directing. Only years later did Labyrinth become a cult hit.

The new release, which comes from Sony's TriStar (who managed to close a deal with The Jim Henson Co.), will be scripted by Guardians of the Galaxy co-writer Nicole Perlman. Few details are known about the film including whether it will act as a sequel or a reboot.

Both Bowie and Henderson fans have expressed their outrage at the idea of a rebooted Labyrinth series, one Tweeter writing: “Jim Henson and David Bowie are dead. A reboot of Labyrinth is a disgusting idea.”

Another wrote: “Hollywood need to concentrate on making future classics not butchering the existing ones”

In other Bowie news, it has emerged that the icon planned to release a number of posthumous albums before his death. Labyrinth, meanwhile, is being shown on Channel 5 at 5.05pm later today.

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