Legendary Pictures is attempting to emulate the success of ‘Fast Five’ by developing an ‘edgier’ film based on Mattel’s popular ‘Hot Wheels’ toy line.
This certainly isn’t going to ease concerns that Hollywood is running out of ideas. Studios have always preferred building their franchises around established brands rather than developing original material, so it’s no surprise that we’ve witnessed an exponential growth in the number of films based on preexisting material over the last several decades. Forgotten action figures, classic board games, old chewing gum wrappers… if it has name recognition, it’s a pretty safe bet that a producer has optioned it.
What will they think of next?