The upcoming television reboot of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Rainmaker can redeem the film’s poor box office performance from 1997. The Rainmaker is arguably one of Coppola’s most overlooked films even though it received overwhelmingly positive reviews, earning a Rotten Tomatoes score of 82%. The film stars Matt Damon just before he would go on to star in Good Will Hunting (1997) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). It also features performances from Danny DeVito, Claire Danes, Jon Voight, and Mickey Rourke.

The Rainmaker was Coppola’s follow-up to 1996’s Jack starring Robin Williams, Diane Lane, and Jennifer Lopez, which is one of the lowest-rated movies of his directorial career. This could have played a part in The Rainmaker’s underwhelming performance at the worldwide box office, earning roughly $41 million against a budget of $40 million. With Coppola’s upcoming Megalopolis, it will mark his return to the director’s chair since 2011’s Twixt. Considering its substantial self-funded budget, Megalopolis hopes to become a box office hit although its only confirmed distributor remains to be IMAX.

The Rainmaker TV Show Can Redeem Francis Ford Coppola’s Underrated 1997 Movie

Coppola’s film was praised by critics but flopped at the box offfice

The recently announced reboot of The Rainmaker will offer the Coppola project a chance at redemption. The upcoming television adaptation of The Rainmaker will be produced by USA Networks, which was also the home of the popular legal drama Suits. The Rainmaker television series will also be an adaptation of the 1995 novel by John Grisham, just like Coppola’s original film. This time around, Grisham and Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions will produce the series, with Coppola reportedly not involved.

The Rainmaker series will be written for television by Jason Richman (The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Stumptown) and Michael Seitzman (Quantico, Code Black, Intelligence). The series has yet to announce its leading cast members or an official release date. The plot should remain true to both Grisham’s novel and Coppola’s film: a young lawyer discovers he’s in deep with a dangerous law firm. The series is considered a legal drama with thriller elements, which could result in one of the best new shows on television.

The New Rainmaker TV Show Is Good News For Coppola’s Movie (Even If It Fails)

The series draws attention to Coppola’s overlooked classic

The Rainmaker is a great choice for a television reboot based on the critical acclaim of both the novel and the movie, despite its box office woes. If the new show is good, it’ll drive more people to the overlooked Coppola movie. If it fails, however, it’ll make the movie look better by comparison, which will also drive viewership to the disregarded classic. The quality of The Rainmaker might come down to the talent of its cast, considering it has big shoes to fill with the likes of Damon and DeVito setting the standard. Hopefully, The Rainmaker series will finally give the Coppola film the credit it deserves.