Will the Upcoming ‘Crocodile Dundee’ Reboot Continue the Original’s Homophobia and Transphobia?

Two recent trailers have suggested that summertime movie audiences will get a reboot of the Crocodile Dundee franchise, a comedic fish-out-of-water series of films that premiered in 1986 with two less successful sequels in 1988 and 2001. The Crocodile Dundee reboot seems like it will star comedic actor Danny McBride as the son of the titular Australian outdoorsman from the first three films, but writer Luke Buckmaster of The Guardian wonders if the reboot will continue the original series’ sexism, racism and homophobia.

The original films followed the urban travels of Michael J. “Crocodile” Dundee, a legendary native from the deep outback of Australia’s Northern Territory, into New York and (in the third film) Los Angeles. Dundee’s folksy manner and uncouth behavior rub up against the sensibilities of the American urbanites and (as it were) “comedy ensues.”

The reboot, entitled Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home, reverses the formula with McBride seemingly out of his element in the Australian Outback.

Here’s the two teaser trailers for Crocodile Dundee reboot:

Seemingly unimpressed with the original films, Buckmaster calls them “vulgar,” “witless,” “opportunistic films, dripping with contempt for their audience,” and questions whether the reboot will be similarly “sexist, racist, homophobic and transphobic.”

In one scene from the original 1986 film, Dundee chats up a beautiful woman at a bar only to be told by his friend, “That girl, she’s a guy.” Dundee responds by grabbing her crotch and she backs away horrified. The bar erupts in laughter and cheers as Dundee proclaims, “A guy dressed up like a sheila! Look at that!” (Shelia is Australian slang for a woman.)

Later on at an arty party, he grabs a woman by the crotch to “make sure” she’s a woman. His female companion excuses it away by telling the accosted woman, ‘It’s OK. He’s Australian.”

Here’s the clip of Dundee with the trans woman (from 1:53 to 2:57):

Here’s the clip of him sexually accosting a woman at a party:

In the second film, Dundee convinces a heartbroken man not to jump off a skyscraper, but recoils in disbelief (nearly falling off the building himself) when he discovers that the man’s ex is a man.

Buckmaster doesn’t seem to have much faith that the new films will do any better than the originals.

Update: just a Super Bowl marketing campaignWe have since learned that the “reboot” is actually for Australian tourism.