Original Flatliners star Kiefer Sutherland has joined the remake, confusing everybody

1990’s Flatliners is something of a forgotten movie, but it has a great premise, and Sony Pictures realise this: they’ve been trying to get a remake off the ground for a while now, and the latest development is a curious one. Deadline have reported that Kiefer Sutherland, star of the original, has joined the cast of the remake as a ‘seasoned doctor’. Huh?

The aforementioned great premise of the original Flatliners, which was directed by Joel Schumacher, was about five medical students experimenting with near-death experiences in order to satisfy their curiosity about what happens after we die. Sutherland played Nelson, one of these students – so could it be feasible that the Flatliners remake could be a sequel, and see Nelson mature into this ‘seasoned’ doctor? Or will it be a complete reboot / remake, and feature Sutherland as a totally different character in a nudge-wink cameo?

The new Flatliners is due to be directed by Niels Arden Oplev (the original The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) and screenwriter Ben Ripley (Source Code) – so there’s a strong filmmaking team behind it so far. Let’s hope this gives Sutherland a boost to his career following Zoolander 2.