Atomic Blonde is a great spy thriller movie.
But let’s say Atomic Blonde was a spy thriller franchise, spanning decades, wherein the iconic character was portrayed by Meryl Streep, then Sigourney Weaver, then Charlize Theron, and then, say, Emma Stone.
Now suppose NotFlicks decides that they stand to make more money if the lead is black but not too black, white women being sort of out of fashion and all, so Atomic Blonde 18 — Direct to Stream stars Trevor Noah.
One can see that many would find this disappointing. Perhaps mostly Trevor Noah when they explain about dyeing his hair and all.
If you re-tell old stories in today’s trappings, just for today’s sake, then you are sort-of “un-telling” the old stories.
If you tell new stories, no matter where they come from, then tell them as they should be told, if only so no one has to “correct” them later.
Note: if this seems superoutofcontext then read this discussion about character portrayal…