MOVIE NEWS: Joe Eszterhas has completed the script for a new Basic Instinct film that brings Catherine Tramell back into the story. The original writer of the 1992 erotic thriller is also introducing a new character, Catherine’s daughter Jezebel. The biggest unanswered question is whether Sharon Stone will return to play the infamous novelist for a third time.

Basic Instinct was not only a major box office hit in 1992, it also transformed Sharon Stone into one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Paul Verhoeven’s erotic thriller earned $352 million worldwide and turned Catherine Tramell into one of the era’s most recognisable femme fatales. Stone returned to the role in 2006 for Basic Instinct 2, but the sequel could not recreate the power of the original. Neither Joe Eszterhas nor Paul Verhoeven came back for the London-set follow-up, which made only $38 million worldwide.

In July 2025, Amazon MGM Studios’ United Artists approached the original writer to develop a new Basic Instinct film that has been described publicly as “anti-woke.” Eszterhas told Interview Magazine that the studio asked whether he had any ideas for the franchise, and he answered without hesitation. “They came to me and asked, ‘Do you have any ideas for this?’ And I said, ‘I do.’ I really talked about bare bones. As you know, after Basic, there was a so-called sequel… it’s really bad.” The writer’s response made clear from the beginning that the new film is not interested in repeating the path taken by the 2006 release.

Eszterhas did not try to soften his opinion of Basic Instinct 2. “They paid me a million five to have nothing to do with it. It’s easy money,” he said, before explaining that he did not believe the filmmakers wanted to take the creative risks or embrace the controversy that defined the original. In his view, the sequel became a bland police procedural that lacked the humour, spice, earthiness, and wit of the first film. Eszterhas also said that over the past three decades he has attended Basic Instinct revivals and seen audiences who still passionately adore the original, which is why he believes there is room for a new version built around a different approach.

Very few plot details about the new script have been revealed so far, but Eszterhas has confirmed that Catherine Tramell will return. “Catherine Tramell is in this one, and so is a new character, her daughter, Jezebel,” the writer said, while declining to reveal more about the story. His stated goal is to make the film fun and enjoyable, while still refusing to shy away from provocative material. Given the harsh way he talks about the 2006 sequel, it is reasonable to expect that the new version will not rely heavily on the events of Basic Instinct 2, and may instead establish a fresh starting point for Catherine’s story.

What remains unknown is whether Sharon Stone will return as Catherine Tramell. In August 2025, the actress reacted to the planned project with visible disbelief, laughing as she said: “If it goes the way the one I was in went, then I would just say I do not know why you would do it. Go ahead. Good f***ing luck!” Stone was clearly referring to Basic Instinct 2, so it is still impossible to know whether the new script could change her mind. The film has no release date, filming has not started, and Eszterhas has only said that he recently finished the screenplay and that the next step now remains to be seen.

Should the project ultimately be made, it will become Eszterhas’ first full feature screenplay since 2006’s Children of Glory. During the 1990s, he was one of Hollywood’s highest-paid screenwriters thanks to hits such as Basic Instinct and Flashdance, but later saw his career weakened by box office failures including Jade and One Night Stand. Showgirls also failed in cinemas, although it later developed a cult following as a camp classic. Eszterhas now appears to be using a new Basic Instinct script to return to the provocative, high-risk Hollywood style that made Catherine Tramell a worldwide phenomenon in the first place.

Source: MovieWeb