The Outsiders: Proof That We’ve Been Wrong About Remakes
Last year, I wrote an article titled “Nothing New Under the Sun: Confronting the Problem with Summer Blockbusters.” Besides having the best title of anything I’ve ever written (it’s all downhill from here), it spelled out my fears and frustrations regarding the nineteen major sequels, remakes, and spin-offs that were set to release in the summer of 2025. After experiencing last summer for myself, I can confirm that my cynicism wasn’t misplaced.
At least, not until last week.
On April 24, 1967, the publication of The Outsiders changed stories about youth forever. Written by sixteen-year-old S. E. Hinton, the novel’s honest portrayal of the teenage experience struck a chord with readers. That emotional core has kept the story relevant in both school curricula and popular culture. An incredibly book-accurate film adaptation, which was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starred Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, and a young Tom Cruise, was released in 1983. But even that adaptation wasn’t enough. In 2023, The Outsiders: A New Musical premiered in San Diego before moving to Broadway. It won Best Musical at the 77th Annual Tony Awards in 2024. A little more than a week ago, I saw the show’s first American tour in Columbus, Ohio.
Advice for all wannabe cynics: avoid stories created and acted by people whose passion explodes in every moment.
I had already read the book. I had watched the movie. I had even listened to the soundtrack. Yet I, a skeptic of remakes and retellings, was fully invested from the first scene.
Why? The story I saw on stage could only be told as a staged musical.
Literature highlights themes. Film highlights stories. Theater highlights the human experience. That nuance is what separates The Outsiders reincarnations from blockbuster remakes.
While both the movie and musical adaptations of Hinton’s novel are faithful to the source material, they have different strengths. The book became a classic thanks to its theme of refusing to let one’s spirit be darkened by the inherently messed-up world in which we live. The movie’s intensity and energy created a striking contrast between the violent plot and the relationships between characters. The musical dives straight into the soul of each character.
If I were to go back in time and talk to my cynical self, I would tell her that she wasn’t entirely wrong. Those movies did end up being lazy imitations of something better, and she was right to call for a higher standard.
But she was wrong about something else.
Since the beginning of time, humanity has latched on to certain stories. There is something powerful in reimagining those tales in fresh ways. But creating an effective adaptation requires understanding why stories are told the way they are.
Recent blockbuster remakes aren’t bad because they tell stories audiences already know. They are ineffective because they don’t understand how and why the stories are being told. They underestimate the impact of adapting the story from animation to live action or from a video game to a film. If studios really want audiences to fall in love with their properties all over again, they should spend less time making faithful retellings and focus instead on highlighting new aspects of the tales we already love.
Who knows, doing so might lead to another Tony Award-winning musical.
