"Basic Instinct" Reboot in Works

Amazon MGM Studios’ United Artists and Scott Stuber have acquired the rights to the relaunch of the 1992 thriller “Basic Instinct,” with the original film’s writer Joe Eszterhas returning to pen the script.

Producers of the not-yet-titled film include UA’s Scott Stuber and Nick Nesbitt and Vault Entertainment’s Craig Baumgarten. Adam Griffin of Vault Entertainment will executive produce.

Directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone, “Basic Instinct” became a cultural phenomenon and box office hit, grossing over $350 million worldwide. 

Known for its provocative themes, “Basic Instinct” follows detective Nick Curran (Douglas) investigating a brutal murder that leads him into a dangerous game of seduction with prime suspect Catherine Tramell (Stone), a manipulative crime novelist. 

Eszterhas is a Hungarian-American screenwriter who began his career as a journalist. His hit films include “Flashdance” (1983), “Jagged Edge” (1985) and “Basic Instinct” (1992). 

Known for his provocative scripts that explore themes of sexuality, power, and moral ambiguity, Eszterhas authored the acclaimed memoir “Hollywood Animal” (2004), which offers a candid look at the film industry.

Other upcoming projects from Stuber include Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” for Netflix, and “Deliver Me from Nowhere,” the Scott Cooper-directed drama that stars “The Bear” breakout Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen when the iconic singer hit an existential crossroads and turned it into the seminal album “Nebraska,” for 20th Century Studios and Disney — both films are coming out this fall.