Emerald Fennell‘s team has denied that the filmmaker is in talks to helm a Basic Instinct reboot at Amazon MGM. Directly contradicting the claims Thomas McNulty attributed to the original screenwriter, Joe Eszterhas.
Eszterhas told The Guardian that “the producers are negotiating with a really interesting director – a Brit, Emerald Fennell” and that “her sensibility is exactly right,” that “she’s someone who is not afraid of controversy and sexuality,” and that “I’m thrilled by that. I hope it works out.”
That didn’t sit too well with Fennell’s team. A representative for the filmmaker quickly scoffed, saying that “there’s no truth in this,” and that “she is not involved in any way,” quoted in Variety. Amazon MGM also tossed in its own denial, with a spokesperson saying the claim is “categorically false.”
Why Fennell?
So how did Eszterhas come up with that notion? Fennell is coming off the success of Wuthering Heights, which starred Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. It grossed $239 million on an $80 million budget. So she is a bit of a hot commodity right now.
The reboot itself has been a long time in the making, too. Amazon MGM’s United Artists, and Scott Stuber bought the rights to the untitled relaunch of the 1992 erotic thriller, with Eszterhas returning to write the script. Eszterhas signed on to write in July 2025, getting a reported $2 million upfront, a deal that could be as much as $4 million if the film actually gets made.
The project was dubbed “anti-woke” in early reports, and not everyone agrees. The original lead, Sharon Stone, was quite direct when asked about the reboot: “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.”
Stone did star in a 2006 Basic Instinct sequel written and directed by Michael Caton-Jones. Eszterhas had nothing to do with that high-profile but critical flop.
For now, the reboot has no director slated to come aboard. For all her love of Eszterhas, her people and Amazon are clear that this enthusiasm belongs to her only.
