Steven Spielberg Says He'll Never Remake One of His Movies, But Hints at Sequels and Spin-Offs

Steven Spielberg's next two films, The BFG and Ready Player One, are already locked in, but beyond that, it's unclear what the world's most famous living director is going to direct next. Thanks to a new interview, we know he won't tackle a remake of one of his own movies, but that doesn't mean he isn't going to dip into the Amblin library to see about spin-offs, prequels, or sequels.

Yesterday, the director announced the formation of the Universal-based Amblin Partners, a new company that combines Spielberg's DreamWorks with Reliance, eOne Entertainment, and Participant Media. Deadline spoke with him about this new venture, and at the end of the interview, they asked if he would "be mining his Amblin titles for possible redos at Universal," raising the point that a remake of Jaws seems to be a rumor that surfaces every now and then. Here's Spielberg's response:

“I would never remake one of my own movies — starting with Jaws — but there are Amblin titles in the library that could inspire new stories that were made popular by the films. There isn’t a single title that I’ve earmarked, but yes, I would like to.”

To me, that sounds like he'll never remake Jaws or any of his other films, but he wouldn't be opposed to directing a movie that either continues one of those stories or features characters that appeared in them. Spielberg's a savvy guy, and I think he knows about our disdain for remakes, so it sounds like he's going to avoid a direct remake but is leaving the door open for other possibilities. If anyone has done enough to earn the benefit of the doubt from audiences, it's Steven Spielberg, so I'll just trust that he knows what he's doing and hope that he doesn't decide to change his mind about remaking one of his own movies. He's much too good for that.