Remakes that don't need to be made

Dune

Peter Berg is attached to direct another big-screen adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic SF novel Dune for Paramount Pictures, Variety reported.

Kevin Misher, who spent the past year obtaining the book rights from the Herbert estate, will produce.

Herbert's 1965 novel is a sweeping, futuristic tale set on the remote desert planet Arrakis, which is the interstellar empire's sole source of the spice Melange, which causes immortality and facilitates space travel.

The beloved book, which is the first in a series of novels, also spawned David Lynch's 1984 film and SCI FI Channel's 2000 miniseries, starring William Hurt.

Both flawed works, but both enjoyable as well.

The Seven Samurai

Screenwriter John Fusco told SCI FI Wire that he now feels ready to adapt and update the 1954 Akira Kurosawa classic The Seven Samurai after turning down the project several times.

Fusco, who has a lifelong interest in Asian legends, said the idea of updating Kurosawa's masterpiece was daunting when it was first proposed to him by producer Harvey Weinstein.

"Harvey offered me the project a couple of times, and I didn't think it was a good idea for obvious reasons. It's hallowed ground," Fusco said in an interview at Wizard World in Los Angeles over the weekend. Fusco also wrote Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and The Forbidden Kingdom.

"Finally, we met and explored the idea of setting it in a more contemporary setting among contractors like the Blackwater guys," Fusco added. "Suddenly, it felt very relevant and real."

Great. They'll probably be defending the village from the evil soldiers of the U.S. Army.