Do you remember the Zoltar machine from one of Tom Hanks’ best movies Big? Well, there are a number of these mysterious machines in California. Ryan Reynolds posing by a Zoltar machine gives us the idea he should star in a Big remake.
The Zoltar machine was what a young Josh Baskin wished on in the 1988 classic Big that he would be “big” to be able to get older girls to like him and to ride on any rollercoaster he wanted. Ryan Reynolds took to Instagram to pose by this particularly creepy arcade machine, captioning Josh’s same wish, “I wish I were big.”
People on Instagram were quick to ask if this was Ryan Reynolds’ way of hinting about a Big remake. After all, the closest we’ve gotten to a remake of the Tom Hanks classic was Zachary Levi’s Shazam! which is an easy comparison. In Shazam!, teenage boy Billy receives magical powers from a wizard where he not only turns into a superhero but an adult man. We see Billy using his newfound growth spurt to gain social media attention, buy beer, and prevent getting in trouble at school. There’s even a scene when Billy/Shazam accidentally walks on a walking piano and inadvertently plays a few notes as Josh did. Makes me wonder if Reynolds knows the infamous rap lyrics from Big like Tom Hanks still does.
Ryan Reynolds is sure living the “big” life himself. He’s had a successful film career in the box office hit Deadpool series and Netflix’s The Adam Project. We should also consider him lucky for his successful marriage to Blake Lively and their three daughters. Being named People’s Sexist Man Alive in 2010 and having a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame can make any young boy wish he could live a life like this.
If the Deadpool star were to be the lead in a potential Big remake, it wouldn’t be incredibly left field for him. There have been plenty of times when we’ve seen the Canadian actor’s childlike persona come out in his roles. In Netflix’s The Adam Project, we saw the reverse happen where an adult Adam and his teenage version of himself meet through time travel. But we still saw his inner child come out and discover through young Adam that he still had some growing up to do. While a Big remake could seem like an exciting thought for audiences of this generation, there will still be nothing like Tom Hanks’ Big in bringing out the sentimental moments of growing up and reminding audiences there was a time before technology when kids played with toys. I guess in the Big remake, he could work for a video game company or social media site.
Ryan Reynolds’ wish definitely came true to be “big” as he’s considered one of the highest-grossing film actors of all time. If a Big remake were to happen, I recommend watching the original film first that stars Tom Hanks which you can see on your Hulu subscription.