You’ll be forgiven for thinking it’s all gone very quiet on the Clue reboot front. In 2020, momentum seemed to be gathering with Ryan Reynolds leading the cast. Jason Bateman was touted as a possible director, as was Jason Bobin, with the film following in the footsteps of modern whodunits like the Daniel Craig-fronted Knives Out. But 20th Century Studios dropped its backing, Reynolds moved on to other things, and Bateman was too busy with Ozark. The project was shelved.
Anticipation grew again in 2024 when Sony partnered with IP owner Hasbro. The project was given the green light. At the time, Gabriel Marano and Zev Foreman, the entertainment heads at Hasbro, championed the move, calling Sony the “ideal partners” and “creative collaborators” to bring Colonel Mustard, Mr. Green, Professor Plum and the rest of the iconic characters back to the big screen.
Then things went silent. That was until 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple director Nia DaCosta teased her pitch for a Clue movie. Speaking to fans on Reddit in January this year, she confirmed the film was in development and suggested a few ideas about how it might play out if she were in charge. She told Redditors she’d cast Tessa Thompson, with whom she collaborated in 2018’s Little Woods, in the role played by Tim Curry in the original adaptation. She said it would be based in Norway, in “a resort, off-season, in the middle of nowhere.”
While no director has been officially announced, it is known that Sony is eager to move away from the farcical nature of Jonathan Lynn’s comedy classic of 1985. The studio had approached Barbarian director Zach Cregger originally, but he decided to do a new Resident Evil movie instead. Jack Wick writer Shay Hatten was also rumored to have been asked to pen the script. These moves suggest Sony is going for a darker tone, exploring murky morals and human conflict.
New Clue Movie Only a Matter of Time
With DaCosta reigniting the thirst for a new Clue movie, it can only be a matter of time before Sony begins work on it. There’s still plenty of mileage in the Hasbro IP. As well as the 1985 movie, Clue also inspired a 1995 stage musical in which audience members at the beginning of every performance chose the killer, weapon and room, meaning each show had one of 216 possible endings.
Elsewhere, the CSI: NY episode, Clue: Adore, paid tribute to its whodunit story mechanics, while Netflix recently announced a new game show that’ll feature familiar characters like Miss Scarlett. In iGaming too, titles like Cluedo Cash Mystery continue to remain popular slot games alongside new releases such as Reel King Hot to Pot and Beef Up the Bonus. From the murder mystery plot to its ensemble cast of potential culprits, the twists and turns of Clue have a universal appeal that makes a potential new movie an intriguing prospect.
Returning to Theaters… Soon
It’s surely going to happen. Despite years of development stalls, the Clue remake has found new life at Sony. With rumors pointing towards a darker, Knives Out-style tone and interest from visionaries like Nia DaCosta, the project has real momentum. It’s only a matter of time before this iconic mystery returns to theaters.