Seth Gordon is back in action—pun intended—this month with Netflix’s Back in Action, but before he reunited Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, he almost remade a classic 1980s techno-thriller. While promoting his latest project with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, the pair discussed his remake of 1983’s WarGames, which never quite came to fruition. While it is well-known that Gordon almost hemed the remake, he shared new details about his modernized reimagining of the classic and how close it came to happening, which he describes as “not as close as I wish.”

“That was at a time when it was the guys from Spyglass that were running MGM at the time, and I had a take on it that was about Stuxnet and that whole world of basically cyber terror and where things could head. I just feel like they weren’t feeling it at that time, and so it didn’t ever really gain the momentum that it needed to. I love the story and the approach, and hey, I gotta say, it’s still relevant. Like everything that happened with [Sandworm] a couple of years ago. It’s frightening. I feel like something’s going to happen in the next four years very relevant to that because the GRU is still in full effect.”

Collider’s Christina Radish spoke with Gordon about the remake back in 2013, when it was still in the planning stages. Then, he explained, “Now, the script has been written and MGM is deciding what they want to do. To me, it’s so clearly an awesome idea, and it’s gotta be made, as far as I’m concerned. I want to direct it, for sure. I just feel like the amount I know about geek world and def-con, and the places where this kind of stuff happens, makes me especially suited to bring it to life, I think.”
What Is ‘WarGames’ About?

Image via MGM

WarGames stars Matthew Broderick as teenage computer genius David Lightman, who inadvertently hacks into the military supercomputer WOPR (War Operation Plan Response). While playing a “game” of Global Thermonuclear War, he inadvertently tricks the computer into believing nuclear war is imminent. Together with his girlfriend Jennifer (Ally Sheedy), he tracks down WOPR’s programmer, Stephen Falken (John Wood). They eventually make their way to NORAD command, where they try to persuade Dr. John McKittrick (Dabney Coleman) and General Beringer (Barry Corbin) to stop WOPR before it can seize control of NORAD’s nuclear arsenal and start World War III – for real. Directed by John Badham (Saturday Night Fever), WarGames was a huge critical and financial success, grossing $124.6 million USD on a $12 million budget, and was one of the first films to deal with hacking and computer security.
Seth Gordon made his directorial debut with the acclaimed video game documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. He subsequently directed the narrative features Four Christmases, Horrible Bosses, and Identity Thief. Back in Action is his first feature since 2017’s big-screen version of Baywatch. Back in Action is now available to stream on Netflix. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.

Wargames

Starring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy, Wargames tells the story of a teenage computer whiz who hacks into a military supercomputer and inadvertently starts a countdown to a new World War. The 1983 thriller is directed by Saturday Night Fever director John Badham.

Release Date

June 3, 1983

Director

John Badham

Runtime

1hr 54min