‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Is Getting a Modern, More Inclusive Remake

Another day, another remake – and this time, it’s the Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life (1946).

Kenya Barris recently did an interview with Variety while attending Sundance Film Festival, where he confirmed that he’s working on rebooting the film with Paramount.

“I feel like Christmas movies are amazing and I think the idea of taking something that has that long of a history and a tale behind it and putting an amazing piece of talent to tell that story,” Barris told the outlet.

The director – who’s best known for creating the ABC sitcom Black-ish and directing the Disney+ remake of White Men Can’t Jump (2023) – also revealed that he thinks the plot of It’s a Wonderful Life lends itself perfectly to POC perspective.

“It’s a guy who’s trying to help out his community and things are going to turn around on him,” he explained. “I think that’s the perfect story to tell for a person of color — Black or brown — to get into that because our communities have some issues and someone trying to help that community out. I think that’s the perfect vehicle to tell that story from.”

Directed by Frank Capra, It’s a Wonderful Life follows George Bailey (James Stewart) as he’s visited by his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers), following thoughts of suicide on Christmas Eve. George is then shown what the world would look like if he didn’t exist.

By casting a POC lead, Barris’ film will be considerably more inclusive than the original. Critics have previously pointed out some of the film’s more unsavory elements, such as the use of a cinematic stereotype with the character of Annie, a Black woman who serves as the Bailey family’s maid. “Although It’s a Wonderful Life was in many ways a deeply progressive, compassionate and anti-capitalist piece of work, it was not immune to the pervasive racial biases of the time,” journalist Louis Chilton wrote for The Independent in 2023.

The film is often featured in lists of the best films of all time, and is often regarded as one of (if not the) best Christmas films ever made.

Barris is also currently attached to direct a remake of another beloved classic, The Wizard of Oz (1939). The director plans on giving the musical fantasy – which famously revolutionized the use of color in film – a modern twist, shifting the setting from Kansas to an apartment complex in Inglewood, California.

Do you think It’s a Wonderful Life needs a modern-day remake? Let us know in the comments!