Quibi is launching a new remake of The Princess Bride on Monday — but fans of the 1987 classic need not worry. Quibi’s version is more of a loving parody-homage than a true remake of the original. Featuring a Mad Libs cast of pretty much every random celebrity you can think of, including Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Garner, Elijah Wood, Jon Hamm, Beanie Feldstein, Lucas Hedges, Jenna Ortega, Jack Black, David Oyelowo, Keegan-Michael Key, Patton Oswalt, Josh Gad, Andy Serkis, Diego Luna, Taika Waititi, and Zazie Beetz, the DIY project will feature knitted-together footage shot by the celebs themselves while at home in quarantine.
Director Jason Reitman, who has a thing for remakes, came up with the idea to remake Princess Bride back in March as a way to raise money for the World Central Kitchen (Quibi donated $1 million to the charity). “I just thought, ‘Can we remake an entire movie at home?’ And I had seen that a fan-made Star Wars had been done. I just started reaching out to actors I knew, saying, ‘Is this something you’d want to do?’ And the response was kind of immediate and fast. It was like, ‘Oh — that sounds like fun,’” Reitman told Vanity Fair. The remake will also feature real-life celebrity couples as the original film’s iconic central pair, Westley and Princess Buttercup, including Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner, Common and Tiffany Haddish, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, and Chris Pine and Annabelle Wallis. As for whether this remake will save the sinking ship that is Quibi, well, it’s not inconceivable.
