'Stranger Things' Star Finn Wolfhard Explains Why He Wanted to Tackle an 'Idle Hands' Reboot -

Late last year, before his directorial debut feature Hell of a Summer slashed into theaters, Finn Wolfhard and his co-director and creative partner Billy Bryk signed on to pen a remake of the ’90s horror-comedy cult classic Idle Hands. Considering his first film was an homage to classic teen comedies and slashers, it sounds like the perfect next step for the Stranger Things star, with his Ghostbusters and Saturday Night director Jason Reitman joining him as a producer to reanimate the strange, dark, and supernatural flick. The original, helmed by Rodman Flender and starring horror icon Devon Sawa, followed a teenager whose hand becomes possessed and begins a streak of mass murder, starting with his parents. However, there’s more to the B-movie that made Wolfhard want to put his own spin on it with Bryk.

During an episode of Mythical Kitchen’s YouTube series Last Meals, Wolfhard was asked about the reboot by host Josh Scherer, who put in a specific request to keep the scene where Sawa tries and fails to cut his troublesome hand off with a dull bagel slicer. “Okay, great! We’ll make it happen,” Wolfhard assured, before going on to express his love for the film. Though the premise is simple and silly, he enjoys the deeper layers that exist within it about what losing control of your body means for a teenager whose body is already evolving in significant ways. Beneath some dark and disturbing kills and punk rock sensibilities is what Wolfhard considers a more personal story that tests its main character, Anton (Sawa), as he tries to eradicate the hand ruining his life and murdering his loved ones right in front of him:

“I also love Idle Hands. I think it’s great. I think I always just found it really interesting growing up of just like, oh, a teenage kid who has absolutely no control over his body. I think especially too, like when you’re at that age where your body’s kind of awkward and like you’re kind of figuring stuff out more. I always just found that concept to be really awesome and yeah, I mean, I hope it happens. Even though it’s a movie about a kid’s hand who gets possessed, it’s like weirdly, a personal film.”

‘Idle Hands’ Will Be an Original Take That Keeps the Heart of the Original

Not much is known at this time about Wolfhard and Bryk’s plan for the remake, but they won’t be afraid to shake up the formula a bit. When the announcement was first made, Reitman shared that the duo had “a completely original take on Idle Hands that captures a disaffected generation.” Sony is also considering them to direct the film in addition to writing, likely thanks to the success of their debut slasher. Hell of a Summer earned the second runner-up spot for the People’s Choice Award in the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival‘s Midnight Madness section, and while reviews have been mixed overall, it still managed to earn some praise from critics like Collider’s Nate Richard, who gave it a B- while adding that “their direction shows so much promise.” For their next project, they’ll also have Jennifer and Suzanne Todd producing via their Team Todd banner alongside Reitman and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire director Gil Kenan.

Wolfhard’s hands won’t be idle in the meantime. Currently, he’s in theaters with The Legend of Ochi, A24’s new fantasy adventure movie directed by Isaiah Saxon and starring Helena Zengel as a young farm girl who ventures from her home to reunite a baby mythical creature with its family. On the horizon, though, all eyes are on the fifth and final season of Stranger Things. The Duffer Brothers have confirmed that the long-awaited ending to Mike Wheeler and the Hawkins residents’ story will release this year, and it will be emotional. In the same conversation with Scherer, he described how the conflicting emotions of the show ending made it almost feel like he was method acting in the final days of filming. “So your brain just overloads,” he said. “I’m proud of everyone, but then also like terrified for the future, and excited for everyone going forward, and mad that we’re not gonna get more time together to film it.”

Idle Hands can be streamed for free on Pluto TV while you wait for updates on Wolfhard and Bryk’s remake. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the projects he has in store in the future.