Adaptations, reboots and remakes in popular culture: Crime, noir, horror, heroes, beasts and bodies

Adaptations, reboots and remakes do not just extend the popular appeal of a work or artist; they can cause controversy as they reinterpret and reimagine original, often iconic texts. This can be further complicated by the feeling of ownership that artists and fans have over the original, and arguments over the definitive version or interpretation prevail or the failing of the adapted version to be mindful of the social or cultural norms of the era, as in the case of the 2022 television remake of the cult neo-noir film American Gigolo (1980). Adaptations can also insightfully reimage what came before it and in doing so bring new critical insights into the original text as well as expand its space and place in contemporary cultural readings with the recent iteration of The Handmaid’s Tale (2022–present) being a case in point.