Sony Pictures has released a brand new TV spot for their highly-anticipatedFlatlinersremake, which gives us our first glimpse atKiefer Sutherland. The actor revealed in an interview last summer that this new project is actually a sequel, and that he is reprising his role from the original as Nelson Wright, although he hinted that his character may have changed his name. We only see him for a brief moment, and we don’t hear him speak any lines, so it still remains to be seen how large a role he plays in this project.
The TV spot debuted on theSony Pictures Canada YouTubechannel, with the Kiefer Sutherland cameo coming literally in the first second of the video. We can see that he’s sporting all-white hair and glasses, wearing a lab coat under his suit, with some brain x-rays seen in the background. While we only see him for a second, it seems he’s presiding over a class, and it seems likely that he’s one of the professors who teaches these young medical students. Kiefer Sutherland did confirm in that interview last summer that he’s a professor at a medical university, although it isn’t clear if his characterNelson Wrightis involved with these new experiments.
The video shows that Ellen Page’s Courtney clearly takes the lead in these experiments, revealing that she wants to know what happens when we die, telling this group of students that she wants them to stop her heart. The experiment seemingly takes a turn, when she’s been dead for more than a minute, but Courtney does in fact come back to life, with the group, which includes Marlo (Nina Dobrev), Ray (Diego Luna), Jamie (James Norton) and Sophia (Kiersey Clemons) performing these experiments on themselves to “witness the afterlife.” They soon find out, though, that these experiments may not have been a great idea.
Director Niels Arden Oplev re-assembled his cast and crew back in June forFlatliners reshootsin Toronto, although they were only said to be for a week. While reshoots have become more and more common, more lengthy reshoots are often seen as quite troublesome, like the months Warner Bros. spent onJustice Leaguereshoots. Still, it was never confirmed what extra scenes were shot during theseFlatlinersreshoots, and it isn’t clear if every major cast member was brought back, or if it only involved a few stars. Niels Arden Oplev directs from a script by Ben Ripley (Source Code), based on the originalFlatlinersscript by Peter Filardi.
Sony Pictures has set a September 29release date for Flatliners, putting it up against Universal’sAmerican Made, starring Tom Cruise, Novus’Till Death Do Us Partstarring Taye Diggs, and PureFlix’s faith-based dramaA Question of Faith. While September isn’t often a huge haven for box office blockbusters, last weekend’sITproved that blockbusters can come at any time, although it seems quite unlikely thatFlatlinerswill give the recordITjust set a run for its money. At any rate, take a look at the new TV spot forFlatlinersbelow.
