Remake of Joe Dante's 'Explorers' In the Works

Like many of the Amblin-inspired films of the 1980s, Joe Dante's Explorers was harshly received at the time but has grown in stature over the years. The sci-fi fantasy film is probably best known for sparking the careers of Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix, and for the rushed production that forced Dante to stop work well before he was finished editing. Paramount, perhaps in a bid to get it right this time, is looking to give Explorers a modern update.

THR reports that Geoff Moore and Dave Posamentier  have been hired to co-write a screenplay for Explorers, which they say could take on the tone of the studio's upcoming Michael Bay-produced time travel film, Welcome to Yesterday. Moore and Posamentier are the duo behind the Sam Rockwell/Olivia Wilde comedy, Better Living Through Chemistry. The original film followed three best friends (the third kid was played by Jason Presson) who build a home made spacecraft and travel to another galaxy where they meet all sorts of strange creatures.

The film is set up at Paramount's low-budget Insurge label, meaning they'll be keeping costs tight on this one. How much that will play into their search for a director is anybody's guess.