Emerald Fennell in talks for new ‘Basic Instinct’ reboot, according to writer
Emerald Fennell is allegedly in talks to direct a reboot of Basic Instinct, the writer of both the original and the slated reboot, Joe Eszterhas, has suggested, despite her team refuting the claim.
In July, it was announced that Amazon MGM Studios’ United Artists and Scott Stuber acquired the rights to the 1992 erotic thriller Basic Instinct; from there, original writer Joe Eszterhas was attached to return to pen an “anti-woke” reboot.
In a new interview with The Guardian, Eszterhas has shared more details on the project and made the surprise announcement that British director Fennell is provisionally attached to the project.
After sharing proudly that the remake is almost complete, Eszterhas turned his attention to provisional directors, landing upon Saltburn and Wuthering Heights mastermind, Fennell.
Eszterhas shared with the interviewer, “The producers are negotiating with a really interesting director – a Brit, Emerald Fennell – who did Promising Young Woman and Wuthering Heights. Her sensibility is exactly right. She’s someone who is not afraid of controversy and sexuality. So I’m thrilled by that. I hope it works out.”
However, the article was later updated to include a comment from Fennell’s team, who denied that she was involved in the project in any shape or form.
The original movie was the breakout role for Sharon Stone, who previously said of the project, “Basic Instinct was my 18th movie. For years, I had been getting pummeled doing a bunch of crap movies and so-so television, back in the day when TV wasn’t king.”
Stone added, “I was 32 years old when I got that job. I told my agent that if they got me in that door, I would get the job. I knew this was the last chance—I was aging out of the business I hadn’t really gotten into yet. I needed a break.”
In August 2025, Stone distanced herself from this reboot, sharing again with The Guardian, “There’s not going to be a Basic Instinct reboot. I hate to break it to you, but Joe Eszterhas couldn’t write himself out of a Walgreens drug store.”
In a lukewarm three-star review of Fennell’s last project, Wuthering Heights starring Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie, Far Out observed, “It’s stuffed to the gills with meticulous design, and it even, in some instances, draws directly on the text of the novel for dialogue. Ultimately, however, it fails to recreate that sense of timelessness and untameable passion that Brontë did. Fortunately, the book is still in print.”
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