Iain Softley’s Inkheart, starring Brendan Fraser in the lead role, had the potential to become the next big fantasy franchise of the 2000s, but unfortunately, it got bashed by critics and overlooked by general audiences, possibly due to lackluster marketing — and it deserves a second chance in the form of a TV show. Based on Cornelia Funke’s novel of the same name, Inkheart is a magical story about a young Meggie and her father Mo who turns out to be a bookbinder, a person who can summon characters from books into reality using his voice. The movie’s core concept is interesting enough to be given another shot.
Inkheart offered a fresh story, and it had a star-studded cast, including Brendan Fraser, Helen Mirren, and Paul Bettany, and yet these things were not sufficient for the film to do well at the box office, as it barely made back its $60 million production budget. It is now 15 years later, the time of reboots and remakes of all sorts has come, and Inkheart is one of the failed movie franchises that deserve a second chance. While Inkheart may not be Brendan Fraser’s best movie, the IP has a lot of potential.
7 Inhkeart Has A Compelling Story
Despite the fact that critics of the original movie did not appreciate Inkheart‘s core storyline, the concept of a person who can make book characters become real people is rather unexplored in the mainstream media. Cornelia Funke’s novels, the basis for the Fraser film, have become instant bestsellers, so there is definitely a reason why viewers are drawn to the story. The author’s fourth installment in the Inkheart saga, The Color of Revenge, has been in the works for over seven years, and there is a lot of anticipation for it from the fan base, proving that the story is still relevant, and the demand is there.
6 Inkheart Is Better Suited For A TV Show
2008’s Inkheart has been criticized for its action-packed plot that leaves viewers confused and unable to follow the timeline with ease, and the movie really is a lot more fast-paced than the original book. This past oversight can be corrected by turning the story into a multi-season fantasy show. That way, the writers can take their time with the events that have to unravel. Plus, there are three installments in the Inkheart book saga, and the fourth one is currently on the way, so it makes more sense to have them adapted into a series rather than a movie. This would continue a recent trend of rebooting YA movie franchises as TV shows.
5 Inkheart Can Be The Harry Potter For Gen Alpha
Even though Inkheart is already an established book franchise, it still has the potential to become more popular among wider audiences. A TV reboot of Inkheart can be to Gen Alpha what Harry Potter has been to Millennials and Gen Z, and that is a fantasy franchise that makes children believe in magic, and adults believe in keeping their inner children alive. Proven that it is done right and by the book, quite literally in this case, Inkheart can launch the fantasy fever of the 2020s, and new, challenging stories are something many are craving these days instead of Max’s Harry Potter reboot.
4 Inkheart Can Launch The Careers Of Its Cast
Successful movies and shows tend to propel their casts into stardom, and that is how the world finds new talent. A reboot of Inkheart should ideally have little-known actors in the lead roles that can be discovered through the show. Harry Potter has made Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint household names, Netflix’s recent adaptation of One Piece is currently doing the same thing, and a potential Inkheart show could take this success formula and let it work its magic. The movie has already tried having Hollywood A-listers carry the weight, and it has failed miserably, so now it is time for a different approach.
3 Inkheart Still Needs A Faithful Adaptation
While the Brendan Fraser adaptation is immensely underrated by audiences, it has certain undeniable faults, and that is straying too far from Cornelia Funke’s book. Inkheart‘s important plot details differ a great deal from the source material, and that hasn’t done the movie any favors. One of the main things that irks the book fans is how the movie Mo is basically willing to put his daughter’s life at risk if it means that he can get his wife back, which is something that does not occur in the book and actually seems out of character for Mo entirely. A faithful reboot of Inkheart can fix that and other mistakes and make longtime readers satisfied.
2 Inkheart Can Inspire More Kids To Read
Inkheart is a story about a bookbinder that draws heavily from other classic literature, such as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Arabian Nights, and one of the many wonderful things the book saga does is it makes reading magical both literally and metaphorically. Millions of children around the world first fell in love with reading as a hobby thanks to Funke’s book, and Inkheart as a TV show can easily continue what the novels have started. The series can tell the well-known tale in a new format, thus, giving books a much-needed second life in the age of smartphones.
1 Inkheart’s Book Franchise Is Still Ongoing
While the Inkheart trilogy ended in 2007 with the release of its final installment, Inkdeath, the writer did announce that another novel was coming back in 2016. Although seven years have passed since the initial good news and the release date has been pushed quite a few times, there is still hope for the novel, as Cornelia Funke shares updates about it on her website. The Brendan Fraser movie may not have been successful, but a show might be, especially if it enters development sometime soon, while the devoted fan base is still waiting for the book and excited to learn more about their favorite magical universe.
