(Credits: Alamy)
Fri 10 October 2025 20:15, UK
It’s almost becoming redundant to say we’re in an era of one sequel after another, remakes and reboots, but the fact still stands.
The list from this year alone goes something like: another Fantastic Four film, Final Destination 6, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (we hope), live action Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon, another Jurassic Park movie, and an I Know What You Did Last Summer remake (it’s OK, just breathe).
Even more insidious is the current turn towards successful and nostalgic millennial fare, like The Devil Wears Prada, Practical Magic and Legally Blonde. All three are wonderful films with perfect performances that would be better left alone. There’s not a chance in hell, in my humble opinion as a 1990s kid through and through, that the coming sequels/prequels do any of their predecessors justice. No matter how many members of the cast return.
With the sheer amount of money and bums in seats these kinds of endeavours bring with them, regardless of the final result or critical response, even the most staunchly opposed and professional actors seem to be drawn in. But we have one goddamn beacon of hope left: Kirsten Dunst.
This year marked the 25th anniversary of one of her most beloved noughties movies, Bring It On. The cheerleading flick is just as much of a reminder of the era of good teen movies and rom-coms as the former films mentioned, so it’s surely good fodder for the sequel machine. But Dunst put a blunt and quick end.
“No. No. I’m like, leave good things where they are,” she told Entertainment Tonight, when asked if she had any interest in the matter. Just off the back of the crime caper Roofman with Channing Tatum, Dunst clearly has other things on her mind. She’s one of those rare actors who has managed to find a good balance between solid independent films and blockbusters, despite being a child star.
While the jury’s still out for the upcoming Roofman and people were divided on her 2024 turn in Civil War, there’s no denying that Dunst is an actor who takes herself seriously. And as she told ET, she has no intentions of donning a cheerleading outfit again. She even goes as far as to cut the interviewer short when he suggests being involved at a producing level, ”I don’t even know what I would do, be a coach or something? Let’s leave it as it is.”
There’s always a chance that she’ll go back on her decision if roles stop coming her way, but she seems determined to move on with her career. I sure hope she continues to do so. I’d much rather see her return to the types of independent films she’d starred in in the past than see her awkwardly and cringe-inducingly return to an outdated character.
While many of us might pine for the golden days of the ’90s and 2000s when it comes to feel-good, light-hearted cinema, no amount of Frankensteining the past is going to bring them back. We may as well accept our lot and cheer on the kinds of good films being made today. After all, we’ll always have those movies. They aren’t going anywhere.
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