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Why does Hollywood keep returning to Nancy Drew but never make a Hardy Boys movie?

posted 5 years ago by PrimeMinisterX (8290)
11 replies | jump to latest

I noticed earlier that there's a new Nancy Drew movie, Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/nancy_drew_and_the_hidden_staircase_2019

There also was another Nancy Drew movie with Emma Roberts about a decade ago:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/nancy_drew

So that made me wonder, why does Hollywood never attempt a Hardy Boys movie? You could say, well, the Hardy Boys are old and young people won't care. But Nancy Drew is from the same era and apparently they think that character is worth resurrecting periodically.

I know there was a Hardy Boys TV show a while back, but never a movie I don't think, and certainly not a movie any time recently.

I was never a huge Hardy Boys fan personally, but seeing the new Nancy Drew movie just made me wonder why.

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 5 years ago

Disney did a TV series on them in the 1950's.

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[–] PrimeMinisterX (8290) 5 years ago

Not sure how that's relevant.

Did you even read the OP?

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 5 years ago

You stated that Hollyweird never made a Hardy Boys movie. I simply pointed out that Disney made a TV Series on them. How is that not relevant?

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[–] PrimeMinisterX (8290) 5 years ago

Well I myself mentioned in the OP that there were multiple TV shows.

"I know there was a Hardy Boys TV show a while back, but never a movie I don't think, and certainly not a movie any time recently."

So you were just stating information I had already mentioned.

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 5 years ago

Okay then. I didn't read down that far.

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[–] halomaniac88 (1736) 5 years ago

nancy drew appeals to girls, boys dont like hardy boys cause they are gay

[–] Catbookss (13664) 5 years ago

Maybe the demographic it'd otherwise be aimed at is all caught up in the multitude of superhero movies, and the Hardy Boys wouldn't be exciting enough to compete?

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8290) 5 years ago

Probably something like that.

Clearly the studios think that young girls will be more interested in Nancy Drew than young boys would be in the Hardy Boys. Whether or not that's true I cannot say.

I do know that Hardy Boys books are still being written and published.

If they ever did make a Hardy Boys movie I think it would be cool if they set it during the series' heyday, during the 30s, 40s and 50s. The two Nancy Drew movies that were released in recent memory were both set in the modern day and that didn't feel right to me.

[–] Catbookss (13664) 5 years ago

Looks like the Hidden Staircase one did all right, looking at the RT reviews. I wasn't aware there were any Nancy Drew movies.

But then I wasn't much of a fan. I read a few, but the answers to the "mysteries" were always disappointing. Don't know if the Hardy Boys were/are anything like that or not.

I'm surprised they're still being written. That means there's got to be a market for them out there, somewhere.

I agree a Hardy Boys movie as a period piece would be much more interesting than if it were set in modern times. Who would you cast as the Hardy Boys?

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8290) 5 years ago

I watched The Hidden Staircase last night, both due to simple curiosity and due to the fact that I like the Nancy Drew character. I thought the movie was just OK. About a 6/10. Now, as a 37-year-old man I am not the target audience, and that might have something to do with my opinion. But even taking that into account I still think the movie was rather lackluster and that a better Nancy Drew movie could be made.

I know that both Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books are both still being written, albeit in rebooted form that places the characters in the modern day. This, along with budgetary concerns, is probably why the recent Nancy Drew movies have both been set in the present, but I really would like to see both franchises get films that are period pieces.

I wonder if the studios feel that making them as period pieces would limit the audience, as they believe that today's youth would not be as interested in that?

As for who I would cast as the Hardy Boys, I think roles like that would be perfect to give to a couple of talented unknowns. This way the actors would get a high-profile role, and their lack of notoriety would make it easier for the audience to really believe in them as the iconic characters. What are your thoughts?

[–] ShogunofYonkers (71636) 5 years ago

Yep, you nailed it