Thirty-five years after first hitting theaters, “Basic Instinct” remains a cornerstone of American cinema, a smoldering noir-style erotic thriller that remains enmeshed in the fabric of pop culture.
Released in 1992, “Basic Instinct” told the story of a police detective (Michael Douglas) seduced by a sexy femme fatale (Sharon Stone in a star-making role) who’s being investigated for a particularly brutal homicide.
The Screenwriter of ‘Basic Instinct’ is Prepping a New Reboot
Last year, Deadline reported that the film’s screenwriter, Joe Eszterhas, had been hired by Amazon MGM Studio’s United Artists to write a reboot.
Now, in a new chat with Interview magazine, Eszterhas is sharing an update to reveal that the project is well underway on its journey to the screen
“They came to me and asked, ‘Do you have any ideas for this?’ And I said, ‘I do.’ I really talked about bare bones.,” he told the outlet.
The ‘Basic Instinct’ Sequel Was ‘Really Bad’
Continuing, Eszterhas reminded that Stone reprised her character, Catherine Tramell, more than a decade later in the 2006 sequel “Basic Instinct 2.” That film, however, was a box-office flop lambasted by critics.
“As you know, after ‘Basic,’ there was a so-called sequel … it’s really bad.” Eszterhas said of the film.
According to Eszterhas, he had no association whatsoever with the much-reviled sequel, yet still received a hefty payday. “They paid me a million five to have nothing to do with it,” he recalled. “It’s easy money. Nobody said this to me, but I didn’t think they wanted to take the kind of creative chances the original did. They didn’t want controversy. What they did was turn it into a bland police procedural. They set it in London and the whole piece was really boring. It didn’t have any humor. It didn’t have the spice and earth and wit of the original.”
‘Basic Instinct’ Continues to Resonate with Viewers
Of all the Hollywood screenplays that Eszterhas has written over the years, “Basic Instinct” is the one that has best stood the test of time.
“In the 30 years since it came out, I went through a lot of ‘Basic Instinct’ revivals and saw audiences who just adored the [expletive] movie,” he declared.
Catherine Tramell is at the Center of the ‘Basic Instinct’ Reboot
While there’s been no confirmation that Stone would reprise her role in the upcoming reboot, Eszterhas hints that his script offers a prime opportunity for her to resurrect her most famous — and most notorious — screen role.
“Catherine Tramell is in this one, and so is a new character, her daughter, Jezebel,” Eszterhas revealed. “I can’t say too much about it.”
Sharon Stone Isn’t Sold on the Reboot
During a 2025 appearance on NBC’s “Today,” Stone was asked what she thought about the notion of rebooting “Basic Instinct” 30-plus years later. Her response was far from enthusiastic, and spoke volumes.
“If it goes the way the one that I was in, I would just say, I don’t know why you’d do it,” she said (via Deadline), referencing the 2006 sequel. “I mean, go ahead. Good [expletive] luck.”
