“The plane! The plane!” That’s right, yet another recognizable brand from the past is getting a series redo, and this time it’s the classic island drama “Fantasy Island,” which The Hollywood Reporter says ABC just made a deal with Sony Pictures Television to remake.
This will mark the third version of “Fantasy Island” to make its way onto the network, after the original which starred Ricardo Montalban and ran from 1977 to 1984, and then the 1998 version starring Malcom McDowell, which only ran for one 13-episode season.
The newest attempt comes from Oscar-nominated screenwriter Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air, X-Men: First Class) and shakes up the show’s formula with several new twists. For one, the series will no longer be set on an island at all, but rather a San Francisco-based company that provides clients the opportunity to live out their most intimate, dark or outlandish fantasy. Another change of pace will be the head of this company, who unlike the previous two supernatural Mr. Roarke personas, will be a “brilliant and sexy” woman.
ABC’s new “Fantasy Island” will be executive produced by Turner and Jennifer Klein (“The Associate”) through their Sony Pictures Television-based Vendetta Productions.
