You've Got Mail remake confirmed as industry insiders slam 'new take' on iconic Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan rom-com: 'You've Got AI Slop!'
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By JACQUES PETERSON, US ASSISTANT SHOWBIZ EDITOR
Published: | Updated:
The '90s rom-com You've Got Mail is getting a remake, but not everybody is happy about it.
Deadline confirmed on Tuesday that the 1998 film, which starred Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, is being remade with a 'new take' from director Jason Orley.
Orley is best known for his work with Pete Davidson, having directed two of his stand-up comedy specials. He also cast Davidson in 2019 coming-of-age movie Big Time Adolescence.
It's unclear if either Hanks or Ryan will have any involvement in the project or how Orley plans to modernize the project.
As expected, news of the fresh spin on the classic rom-com has been met with skepticism online.
'Insane decision. Every great element of this movie is outdated: dial-up, email, book stores, talking to strangers, men and women dating,' writer Grant Addison posted on X.
The 1998 rom-com You've Got Mail, which starred Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, is getting a remake from Warner Bros
'The original worked because Fox Books was the big, evil corporate villain threatening a cozy indie bookstore. In 2026, both of them would have already been put out of business by Amazon five years ago,' another joked.
'You've Got AI Slop,' joked The Ringer's Matthew Belloni.
Many others pointed out that You've Got Mail is in fact an adaptation of the 1937 play Parfumerie, which spawned the 1940 film The Shop Around the Corner.
It was then remade again in 1949 as In the Good Old Summertime starring Judy Garland.
'Everyone angry about this is forgetting that YOU’VE GOT MAIL was like the 4th remake of this story,' posted movie blogger Tom Zohar.
'Disregarding You've Got Mail was already a remake, remaking it specifically in 2026 is absurd. You can't even call it "You've Got Mail" because AOL retired the sound. Last year,' added another.
Box office columnist Scott Mendelson also chimed in, posting: 'Once again, this is not and was not an IP or a franchise.
'Yes, 1998’s You’ve Got Mail was itself a remake of Shop Around the Corner, but its appeal at the time was 99% "Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, reunited again after Sleepless in Seattle"!!!'
It's unclear if Hanks or Ryan will have any involvement in the upcoming project
You've Got Mail was a box office sensation upon its release, grossing $250million to become one of the biggest rom-coms of the '90s
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How should classic films like You've Got Mail be updated for today's world, if at all?
The original You've Got Mail tells the story of two people in an online romance who are unaware they are also business rivals.
Kathleen Kelly (played by Ryan) runs an independent bookstore, while Joe Fox (played by Hanks) runs a major book chain with his family.
While much of the film's marketing centered on reuniting Ryan and Hanks, it also featured a star-studded cast that included Parker Posey, Jean Stapleton, Dave Chappelle, Steve Zahn and Greg Kinnear.
You've Got Mail was a box office sensation upon its release, grossing $250million to become one of the biggest rom-coms of the '90s.
The upcoming remake is just one of the many remakes and sequels that have been greenlit since David Ellison took over Paramount last year.
Other films in the works include Rush Hour 4, Top Gun 3, A Quiet Place 3, a new Transformers movie, another Paranormal Activity sequel, A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot and more.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.