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The ice pick is back. Over three decades after Basic Instinct seduced audiences and ignited controversy, screenwriter Joe Eszterhas is officially returning to the franchise that made him Hollywood’s highest-paid scribe. Amazon MGM Studios, and United Artists have acquired the rights to relaunch the 1992 erotic thriller, with Eszterhas set to pen the reboot in a deal that could reach $4 million, the largest spec script sale of 2025.
Scott Stuber is attached to produce alongside Nick Nesbitt for United Artists and Craig Baumgarten for Vault Entertainment. Adam Griffin will executive produce for Vault. The reboot is currently untitled, but one thing’s clear: the seductive thriller that redefined ‘90s noir is getting a 21st-century makeover.
Joe Eszterhas Returns for Basic Instinct Reboot in Record-Breaking Amazon Deal
Directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone, the original Basic Instinct became infamous for its sexually charged storyline and that interrogation scene. This now-iconic leg-crossing moment cemented Stone’s Catherine Tramell as a pop culture legend. The film followed a San Francisco detective (Douglas) who becomes entangled with the brilliant, alluring, and possibly murderous novelist Tramell (Stone). The film made over $352 million globally (equivalent to over $800 million today) and earned two Academy Award nominations, despite its divisive reception.
Eszterhas, who famously sold the original screenplay for $3 million, will reportedly inject the new script with what insiders describe as an “anti-woke” edge. In a 2018 interview, the writer reflected on how the film’s infamous “rough s*x” scenes would be received differently in today’s #MeToo era. Still, his return to the material suggests an effort to recapture the provocative spirit that made Basic Instinct such a cultural lightning rod.
Could Sydney Sweeney Be the Perfect Choice to Revive Catherine Tramell?
While casting remains under wraps, speculation is already swirling. Some fans online have floated the idea of Sydney Sweeney stepping into the role of Catherine Tramell—a move that would certainly generate buzz given Sweeney’s skyrocketing popularity (she’s also rumored for the James Bond reboot and attached to the Split Fiction adaptation with Amazon MGM Studios), sexual confidence on screen, and Gen Z appeal. Still, there’s a lingering possibility that Sharon Stone, who reprised her role in 2006’s Basic Instinct 2, could be involved, perhaps as a mentor, a memory, or something more mysterious.
Whatever shape this reboot takes, the stakes are high. Eszterhas’s return, a big-ticket script sale, and a potential recasting of one of the most unforgettable femme fatales in film history? That’s a cocktail worthy of a very sharp stir.
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