YouTube‘s paid subscription service, YouTube Red, is attempting to branch out into Netflix’s territory with more original programming. Bafflingly, this includes making a sequel to the poorly reviewed 2008 sci-fi movie Jumper.
Starring Hayden Christensen, Jumper was a (very) loose adaptation of Steven Gould’s YA novel about a teenager with the ability to teleport.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5ZNG3Oveh4
Director Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) is returning for YouTube Red’s sequel, a 60-minute pilot adapted from Gould’s third Jumper book, Impulse. Focusing on the teenage daughter of Hayden Christensen’s character in the first movie, it offers the opportunity for a soft reboot for new audiences, along with a more YouTube-friendly young protagonist. Jeffrey Lieber (Lost) is writing the pilot.
YouTube Red began its push toward original programming this year, recently releasing the YA dystopian thriller The Thinning. Impulse aims for a similar teen audience, but the presence of Doug Liman adds more prestige than YouTube’s earlier ventures.