With Road House (2024) paving the way for more modern remakes of cult classic ‘80s thrillers, the potential for Tom Cruise’s 1988 movie Cocktail to be remade could work better by casting the leads from 2023’s big rom-com success. The 1980s was an incredible decade for entries in the so-bad-they’re-good action/thriller subgenre, with movies like Patrick Swayze’s Road House failing to impress critics but remaining beloved for their lack of self-seriousness and entertainment value. The cast of 2024’s Road House remake maintains this sentiment in the remake of the 1989 film, with its divisive success making additional remakes of movies of this vein more likely.

While not as fondly remembered as Road House, another ‘80s hit that falls into this category is Tom Cruise’s 1988 movie Cocktail. The movie follows Cruise’s Brian Flanagan, a business student working as a successful bartender, whose relationships with his coworker Doug (Bryan Brown) and romantic interest Jordan (Elisabeth Shue) lead to a series of unexpected twists and turns. Though the film holds a meager 9% score on Rotten Tomatoes, it was a smash box office smash, earning $171.5 million against an estimated budget of $20 million (via Box Office Mojo). Following Road House’s success, it could finally be time to give Cruse’s Cocktail the modern remake treatment.

RelatedAfter the Road House remake, it’s hard not to imagine Jake Gyllenhaal as one of the leading stars in the reboot of a Jean-Claude Van Damme action film

Glen Powell & Sydney Sweeney Would Be Perfect For A Cocktail Remake After Anyone But You

The two actors could fill the shoes of Tom Cruise and Elisabeth Shue

One crucial factor contributing to the success of Doug Liman’s 2024 Road House remake was its compelling lead cast, with action star Jake Gyllenhaal taking over Patrick Swayze’s character from the original while UFC champion Conor McGregor assumed the cartoonish villain role. Similar to Road House’s remake requiring an actor with Swayze’s star power and charisma, a Cocktail remake would need an actor with comparable allure to ‘80s-era Tom Cruise for Brian Flanagan. Likewise, with Elisabeth Shue having been one of the biggest female stars of the ‘80s, a Cocktail remake would need an actress of similar popularity and appeal to step into the role of Jordan Mooney.

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If Cocktail does get a remake, these casting requirements can easily be found in the leads of the 2023 hit movie Anyone but You. Though also divisive among critics, Anyone but You was a certified box office smash as it went on to earn over $216 million against a $25 million budget. In addition to a witty script and fun premise, much of Anyone but You’s success can be attributed to the casting and chemistry of Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney as the two romantic leads. In 2024, Powell and Sweeney aren’t too off from the cards that Cruise and Shue brought to the table back in 1988 for Cocktail.

Powell already had rom-com experience with films like Set It Up ahead of Anyone but You, but made a bigger name for his action roles in movies such as Top Gun: Maverick, Devotion, Hit Man, and, now, the upcoming Twisters sequel movie. Meanwhile, Sweeney has proven widely popular with audiences after her roles in Euphoria, The White Lotus, and Immaculate, and both actors prove increasingly bankable with each new release. With the original Cocktail movie’s negative critical and audience response making it ripe for improvement, Powell and Sweeney could provide the star power a remake would need to successfully adapt the same-named 1984 novel.

RelatedSydney Sweeney’s new movie is confirming the actor’s box office dominance, even after her appearance in another critically panned 2024 film.

Remaking Cocktail Sounds Better Than Anyone But You 2 For Powell & Sweeney

Anyone but You doesn’t need a direct sequel

Following the success Anyone but You, Sweeney and Powell announced they were reading scripts and searching for their next collaboration together. While some have thrown around the idea of returning to Bea and Ben’s story with a potential Anyone but You 2 movie, the original movie being based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing makes a sequel unnecessary. Rather, it seems more likely that Powell and Sweeney’s “sequel” will be a completely different film that pairs them as romantic leads.

This was a common tactic for 1990s romantic comedies, which would see romantic leads like Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan or Julia Roberts and Richard Gere reunite in another rom-com instead of making a direct sequel to their past success. Consequently, with Sweeney and Powell searching for their next film collaboration, a remake of Cocktail could provide a fitting follow-up to Anyone but You. With Powell playing Brian and Sweeney playing Jordan, the duo would just need to find a new Doug to enhance their existing chemistry, potentially creating the perfect recipe to improve upon Cruise’s original movie.

Road House 2024’s Success Proves Remakes Of Divisive ’80s Thrillers Can Work Today

The bar is set lower, but it needs to maintain ’80s movie’s tone

Remakes of 1980s hits don’t always work out, with some proving to be unnecessary if the original was already a hit and a product of its time. However, there are some notable exceptions, with Amazon’s 2024 Road House movie being one of them. The Road House remake’s Rotten Tomatoes score is already better than the 1989 original (59% compared to 43%), and smashed records for Prime Video’s movie premiere viewership numbers to prove its popularity among audiences. Though many fans of the original may reasonably remain more loyal to Swayze’s 1989 iteration, it’s difficult to deny the entertainment value and success of the remake.

Considering Cocktail has a much less beloved reputation than 1989’s Road House, remaking the Tom Cruise film isn’t apt to come with as much apprehension or high expectations. With an already divisive original movie, there isn’t as big of a risk of “ruining” the original, as the bar is relatively lower when aiming to improve upon certain aspects of the first film that didn’t initially land with critics and audiences. Of course, with cult classics, it helps if the remake maintains the tone of the original, such as 2024’s Road House protecting the campiness and lack of self-seriousness of the 1989 film.

Top Gun: Maverick Highlights How Glen Powell Could Replace Tom Cruise’s Brian In Cocktail

A potential Cocktail remake wouldn’t be the first time that Glen Powell has stepped into an ‘80s-based Tom Cruise property. Powell starred in Cruise’s 2022 hit Top Gun: Maverick as Hangman, who served a role similar to Val Kilmer’s Iceman from the 1986 original movie. Consequently, it’s already clear that Powell has qualities similar to Cruise in that era, which would make him taking over a character that Cruise originated easier to grasp.

Similar to Hangman or Maverick, a character like Brian Flanagan has an air of cockiness and confidence that contrasts with his need to prove himself. Powell’s past movies have demonstrated that he could take on this type of character successfully, having to balance the cockiness and heroism of his Top Gun character with the earnestness and rom-com lead chops of his Anyone but You role. While Powell and Sweeney potentially starring in a Cocktail remake would already give it a leg up, the greatest way to make it more enticing would be to get Tom Cruise to return as well.

Source: Box Office Mojo

Anyone But You is a romantic comedy by director Will Gluck starring Sydney Sweeny and Glen Powell. Sweeny and Powell star as Bea and Ben, two strangers with an incredible first date that goes sour following one incident at the tail end. Thinking the worst is behind them, the two are roped into a destination wedding in Sydney, Australia, where they’ll have to pretend to be a couple despite absolutely hating each other.