Amazon MGM develops Basic Instinct reboot with Eszterhas writing

A high-profile reimagining of Basic Instinct is moving forward, with Amazon MGM Studios developing an antiwoke reboot written by the original film’s screenwriter, Joe Eszterhas. The project is being produced under Scott Stuber’s United Artists banner, and while Eszterhas is attached to write the script, there is no confirmed involvement from the film’s iconic star, Sharon Stone. Stone has publicly signaled she has no plans to return, even as the project gathers developers and financiers intent on reviving the 1990s-era thriller for a new era of streaming.

Eszterhas’s return to the property marks a notable shift for a film that became a touchstone of erotic thriller cinema. The studio’s decision to pursue a reboot under Amazon MGM Studios reflects a broader industry trend of revisiting beloved properties, even as a new generation of viewers negotiates evolving standards for onscreen explicitness and representation. The precise creative direction remains under wraps, but the reporting surrounding the project emphasizes a continued push to recapture the provocative edge that defined the original.

Sharon Stone, who starred as Catherine Tramell in the 1992 film and its 2006 sequel,...