From Sequels to Reboots: The Evolution of Fred Dekker's Cliffhanger Franchise
Fred Dekker, known for his work on movies like House and The Monster Squad, has had mixed success with sequels. While his original stories have been well-received, sequels like RoboCop 3 and The Predator did not fare as well. One of his unrealized projects was a sequel to the 1993 action film Cliffhanger, which was set to follow the character Gabe Walker as he faced off against terrorists at the Hoover Dam. Despite several attempts to bring a sequel to the screen, including a female-led reinvention and a potential return of Sylvester Stallone as Gabe Walker, the project ultimately became a reboot. The Cliffhanger reboot, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and starring Pierce Brosnan and Lily James, is set for release in August 2026. The film follows Ray Cooper and his daughter as they are targeted by kidnappers during a mountain excursion, with the daughter fighting for survival in the mountains. Fred Dekker, who was involved with the project at one point, shared that his script for a sequel called Cliffhangers, which featured prison inmates stumbling into a gold heist during a mountaineering field trip, was ultimately abandoned in favor of the new reboot.