These 2000s Movies Should Get a Reboot Soon

Reboots keep returning because big ideas rarely fit into one pass. The 2000s were packed with bold swings in sci fi, fantasy, and comic book storytelling that introduced rich worlds, memorable characters, and ambitious production techniques. Many of these films drew from books and graphic novels with deep backstories that still have room for new chapters.

This list rounds up twenty five titles from that decade with sturdy source material and distinctive settings. You will find adaptations that only covered a slice of a larger saga, original concepts that built their own mythology, and properties that bridged animation and live action in inventive ways.

‘Atlantis: The Lost Empire’ (2001)

This animated adventure follows cartographer Milo Thatch on an expedition to a hidden civilization powered by crystal technology. The film features a visual style influenced by comic artist Mike Mignola and a voice cast that includes Michael J. Fox, Cree Summer, and James Garner.

Disney produced extensive worldbuilding for the project with constructed Atlantean language by linguist Marc Okrand and detailed production design for vehicles like the submarine Ulysses. A direct to video sequel brought back key characters, and the property has remained present in theme park references and home media releases.

‘Treasure Planet’ (2002)

This science fiction spin on the classic novel tracks Jim Hawkins aboard a solar sailing ship in a distant galaxy. Directors Ron Clements and John Musker blended hand drawn character animation with three dimensional environments and introduced the RLS Legacy as the main vessel.

The film earned an Academy Award nomination for animated feature and showcased a hybrid pipeline that paired 2D line work with digital tools like Deep Canvas. Its take on cyborg pirate John Silver and the map to the titular planet extended a well known adventure into a new setting with spacefaring visuals.

‘Sky High’ (2005)

Set at a high school for young heroes, this family film follows Will Stronghold as he learns to manage powers and school life. The cast includes Kurt Russell, Kelly Preston, and Danielle Panabaker, and the story divides students into hero and sidekick tracks as part of the school system.

Practical effects and wire work support a bright visual tone with costuming that nods to classic comic archetypes. The film’s world includes faculty with powers, cafeteria rules for supers, and training classes that treat heroics as coursework, which creates a structure that can expand to new characters and teams.

‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’ (2003)

Based on the comic by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill, this ensemble brings literary figures together for a mission that spans continents. The team includes Allan Quatermain, Mina Harker, Captain Nemo, Dorian Gray, and Dr. Jekyll with the Nautilus serving as a signature location.

The production combines period design with steampunk machinery and set pieces in Venice and beyond. The film altered the source lineup by adding Tom Sawyer to connect with an American audience, and the premise supports rotating recruits from public domain literature for future missions.

‘Eragon’ (2006)

Adapted from Christopher Paolini’s novel, this fantasy follows a farm boy who bonds with the dragon Saphira and joins a rebellion against a tyrant. The cast features Ed Speleers, Jeremy Irons, Rachel Weisz as the voice of Saphira, and John Malkovich as Galbatorix.

The property comes from a four book cycle with riders, ancient magic, and elven and dwarf cultures that extend beyond the events of the first installment. The film presents dragon flight and sorcery through large scale visual effects and introduces locations like Farthen Dûr that anchor a larger map.

‘The Golden Compass’ (2007)

This adaptation of Philip Pullman’s novel follows Lyra Belacqua as she investigates missing children and travels with the armored bear Iorek Byrnison. The cast includes Dakota Blue Richards, Nicole Kidman, and Daniel Craig with daemons visualized as animal companions for each character.

Magisterium control, experimental research on Dust, and northern journeys provide recurring story elements including witches and balloon travel. The film compresses parts of the book’s ending for a theatrical arc, leaving additional material and locations available for continuation.

‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ (2005)

Douglas Adams’s comic space odyssey arrives with Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox, and Trillian on a trip through improbable events. Martin Freeman leads the cast with Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, and Mos Def, and Stephen Fry voices the Guide entries.

The film combines live action sets with puppetry by the Jim Henson company for Vogons and includes Marvin the Paranoid Android with voice work by Alan Rickman. Iconic devices like the Infinite Improbability Drive and Babel fish appear alongside new material developed from Adams’s notes.

‘The Time Machine’ (2002)

H. G. Wells’s story is retold with inventor Alexander Hartdegen traveling to the far future and encountering the Eloi and the Morlocks. Guy Pearce stars with Jeremy Irons as the Über Morlock, and the film is directed by Simon Wells, a descendant of the author.

Miniature work and digital effects depict the rapid passage of time and the transformation of New York before the jump to a distant era. The adaptation introduces character motivations tied to personal loss while preserving core ideas about social evolution and the split between surface and subterranean societies.

‘Jumper’ (2008)

Based on Steven Gould’s novel, this thriller features a young man who can teleport and a secret order known as the Paladins that hunts people with his ability. Hayden Christensen, Jamie Bell, and Samuel L. Jackson lead the cast across a globe trotting series of set pieces.

The film stages jumps in real locations that include Rome and Tokyo with practical stunts blended into quick cut visual effects. The source material extends to additional books with new characters and rules for jumpers, providing more lore on abilities and organizations that police them.

‘Push’ (2009)

This original science fiction story centers on people with psychic abilities categorized by roles such as Movers, Watchers, and Pushers. Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, and Camilla Belle anchor a cast that navigates a covert war driven by a government agency known as Division.

Hong Kong serves as the primary setting and gives the film dense urban backdrops for hand to hand fights and hideouts. The worldbuilding introduces Stitchers who heal and Bleeders who incapacitate with sound, which establishes a taxonomy that supports squad dynamics and strategy.

‘Constantine’ (2005)

Drawn from the ‘Hellblazer’ comics, the film follows exorcist John Constantine as he counters demonic influence while dealing with a personal curse. Keanu Reeves stars with Rachel Weisz, Tilda Swinton, and Peter Stormare, and the story weaves occult artifacts into a noir framework.

Production design features iconography like the Spear of Destiny and a depiction of Los Angeles that blends sacred and profane imagery. The character’s history includes work with a cab driver ally and a chain smoking detective persona, while the comics offer decades of cases and adversaries.

‘Ghost Rider’ (2007)

This Marvel adaptation presents stunt rider Johnny Blaze, who becomes the Spirit of Vengeance with a flaming skull and a chain weapon. Nicolas Cage stars with Eva Mendes and Wes Bentley, and the film introduces the Penance Stare as a signature power.

The mythology brings in characters like Mephistopheles and the outlaw figure Carter Slade and features a desert ride sequence that pairs two Riders. Comic arcs cover multiple hosts and bike and car variants, which allows fresh takes on the mantle and on the demonic contracts that drive the plot.

‘Van Helsing’ (2004)

Universal’s monster hunter travels to Transylvania to confront Dracula while crossing paths with Frankenstein’s creature and a werewolf. Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale star, and Stephen Sommers directs with a production that mixes practical sets and digital creatures.

The film links classic monsters under a single storyline and equips the protagonist with gadgets, crossbows, and a Vatican support network. Tie in media include a short animated prequel and console games that expand the setting to London and other regions, laying groundwork for a connected bestiary.

‘Daredevil’ (2003)

Matt Murdock practices law by day and patrols Hell’s Kitchen by night using heightened senses after a childhood accident. Ben Affleck leads, with Jennifer Garner as Elektra, Colin Farrell as Bullseye, and Michael Clarke Duncan as Wilson Fisk.

Sound design and visual effects map the hero’s radar sense to raindrops and vibrations while courtroom scenes show the legal half of the character. An extended cut adds additional cases and character beats, reflecting a dual track life that alternates between trials and vigilante work.

‘Elektra’ (2005)

This spin off focuses on Elektra Natchios as an assassin who becomes a guardian to a young girl targeted by a criminal cult known as the Hand. Jennifer Garner returns, with Terence Stamp as Stick, and martial arts choreography grounds the action.

The story pulls from comics that tie Elektra to ancient orders and to rivalries within the Hand. The film presents Kirigi and specialized foes, and it introduces the concept of a prodigy known as the Treasure, which frames a lineage plot that can continue with new initiates and mentors.

‘The Brothers Grimm’ (2005)

Terry Gilliam directs this fantasy about siblings who stage fake exorcisms and confront a real supernatural threat that draws from European folklore. Matt Damon and Heath Ledger star as Wilhelm and Jacob, with Lena Headey and Monica Bellucci in key roles.

Production design leans into forests, village squares, and a tower that references fairy tale imagery. The narrative incorporates motifs from stories such as enchanted mirrors and cursed woods and places the brothers amid a Napoleonic era backdrop with authorities who doubt their work.

‘Sahara’ (2005)

Based on a Dirk Pitt novel by Clive Cussler, this adventure follows a search for a lost Civil War era ship that may have reached Africa. Matthew McConaughey, Steve Zahn, and Penélope Cruz lead a journey that mixes archaeology with modern intrigue.

The production stages desert chases, river sequences, and set pieces built around improvised vehicles and gear. The Dirk Pitt series spans many books with recurring colleagues and a marine institute base, which supports episodic expeditions and stand alone missions.

‘City of Ember’ (2008)

Adapted from Jeanne DuPrau’s novel, this story takes place in an underground city created as a refuge for humanity. Saoirse Ronan and Harry Treadaway play young residents who find clues in a damaged box while the city’s generator and food systems begin to fail.

Sets depict a worn civic infrastructure with pipeworks, market stalls, and a failing power grid. The Books of Ember continue the timeline beyond the city, and the film presents artifacts and maps that point toward surface exploration and community rebuilding.

‘Inkheart’ (2008)

This fantasy brings characters from books into the real world when a storyteller reads aloud and triggers a trade that removes people from life to page. Brendan Fraser, Eliza Bennett, Helen Mirren, and Paul Bettany star in a plot that involves the villain Capricorn and fire performer Dustfinger.

The film showcases book within book devices, parchment props, and library locations while referencing classic literature that crosses over. Cornelia Funke’s trilogy provides additional antagonists and settings, and the rules of reading beings in and out of stories create ongoing stakes.

‘The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising’ (2007)

Taken from Susan Cooper’s sequence, this adaptation follows a boy who learns he is an Old One and must collect Signs to battle the Dark. The film makes notable changes from the books, including shifts to the protagonist’s age and setting, while preserving the conflict between Light and Dark.

Symbols like the Sign of Fire and the Sign of Wood anchor a quest that moves through time and tradition. The larger series includes Welsh and English folklore, additional guardians, and artifacts that broaden the fight beyond one village and one family.

‘The Spiderwick Chronicles’ (2008)

Based on the series by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, this family fantasy centers on a field guide that catalogs fairies and draws the attention of an ogre named Mulgarath. Freddie Highmore plays twin brothers with Mary Louise Parker and David Strathairn in supporting roles.

Creature effects mix practical suits and digital work for brownies, goblins, and griffins. The books continue with more creatures and protective circles around the Grace family home, and the idea of field notes and protective recipes offers a framework for new discoveries.

‘Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow’ (2004)

This retrofuturist adventure follows a pilot and a reporter who investigate giant robots and a missing scientist plot. Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Angelina Jolie star in a production that used extensive blue screen work with digitally created sets.

The film’s look draws on pulp magazines and art deco design with zeppelins, ray guns, and a secret island lair. Its digital backlot method allows flexible staging for air battles and city flyovers, and the pulpy serial structure supports mission based follow ups.

‘The Last Legion’ (2007)

This historical fantasy links the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the origins of a legendary sword. Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan lead a journey that moves from Rome to Britain with battles against invading forces.

The film blends real locations with costumed armies and uses inscriptions and prop forges to establish the sword’s lineage. It connects imperial politics with Celtic myth, creating a bridge between late antiquity and early medieval legend that can expand to rival claimants and hidden orders.

‘Aeon Flux’ (2005)

Inspired by Peter Chung’s animated series, this film follows a rebel assassin who challenges a ruling council inside a walled city after a disease reshaped humanity. Charlize Theron stars with Frances McDormand and Sophie Okonedo, and acrobatic stunts pair with biotech gadgets.

Production design uses clean lines, living architecture, and biotech weapons like monofilament projectiles. The lore includes memory manipulation, cloning facilities, and underground communication networks, which provides a backdrop for espionage arcs and shifting alliances.

‘The Spirit’ (2008)

Will Eisner’s masked detective returns in a stylized neo noir that pits him against a criminal mastermind known as the Octopus. Gabriel Macht stars with Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, and Eva Mendes, with direction by Frank Miller.

The film adopts high contrast visuals with selective color accents and frames the city as a character with alleys and rooftops used as pathways. Eisner’s comics include one shot stories and recurring femme fatales, which supports episodic cases and larger arcs around the Octopus and rival crime families.

Share your own picks for 2000s films you would like to see refreshed in the comments.