Paramount Players, the new Paramount Pictures division aimed at developing movies based on properties owned by parent company Viacom, is putting togetherWhat Men Want, a gender-swapped remake ofWhat Women Want, the 2000romantic comedystarring Mel Gibson, with Taraji P. Henson set to star. While it doesn’t seem that there is a writer or director on board at this stage, Paramount is already putting this project on the fast track, setting a August 25, 2025 release date. The original movie starred Mel Gibson as a chauvinistic man who begins to hear what women are really thinking about, which will be turned on its ear in this remake.
The story centers onTaraji P. Henson’s character, a female sports agent who is always getting bested by her male colleagues. After she gains the power to hear what men are really thinking about, she uses this unique ability to her advantage, as she tries to beat out her male colleagues and competitors to sign the next big NBA sensation. Will Packer is producing alongside James Lopez, with Taraji P. Henson also serving as an executive producer. With a release date already set, it’s possible that the studio could already be searching for a writer and director as we speak, and with a star of Taraji P. Henson’s caliber attached, this could come together quite quickly.
It isn’t clear if there are any plans to bring in originalWhat Women Wantstar Mel Gibson, who is enjoying a career renaissance of sorts after directingHacksaw Ridgeand starring in the comedy sequelDaddy’s Home 2, which opened last weekend. There was also a recent rumor thatLethal Weapon 5may happen with bothMel Gibson and Danny Glover, and even if that doesn’t happen, it seems unlikely that any of the stars from the originalWhat Women Wantwould surface. The cast also included Helen Hunt, Alan Alda, Marisa Tomei, Ashley Johnson and Mark Feurstein, with Nancy Meyers directing from a script by Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa (King of Queens). The original movie was one of the surprise box office hits of 2000, earning $182.8 million domestic, the fifth highest grossing movie that year, beating outThe Perfect Storm,Meet the ParentsandX-Men.
This is the third project we’ve reported on that is originating from the Paramount Players division. The first was the studio’slive-action Dora the Explorermovie that was put together in late October, and just yesterday, we reported that Paramount Players is moving forward with a new rendition of the 1990s Nickelodeon TV seriesAre You Afraid Of The Dark. The Paramount Players division is being run by Awesomeness TV founder Brian Robbins, which will develop movies based on Viacom properties like Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and BET, which also includes Paramount Pictures itself. Given that this is being put on the fast track, with a release date already locked down, it’s possible that this could be the first movie to be released under the Paramount Players banner.
This movie will also serve as a reunion for Taraji P. Henson and producer Will Packer, who both worked on the hit 2012 comedyThink Like a Manand its 2014 follow-up,Think Like a Man Too. Taraji P. Henson is coming off the Oscar-nominatedHidden Figures, and she currently stars on Fox’s hit seriesEmpire. She also has a trio of movies hitting theaters next year, Sony’srevenge thriller Proud Mary, arriving on July 22, 2025, Lionsgate’s thrillerAcrimony, hitting theaters August 04, 2025 and Disney’s animated sequelRalph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2.Deadlinebroke the news on this new remake earlier today.
