Molly Ringwald, who achieved her teen icon status by starring in a string of films by John Hughes, opened up on potential remakes of the famed films. Speaking at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival premiere of her new movie, Ringwald claimed that she wasn’t keen on the idea of a remake. She believes that Hughes wouldn’t have been, either.

Molly Ringwald explains why John Hughes movies shouldn’t be remade

Molly Ringwald shot to stardom at an early age with her roles in Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and Pretty in Pink (1986), all by legendary filmmaker John Hughes. She spoke to PEOPLE about the prospect of remaking any of the iconic classics at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

She attended the festival for the premiere of her new movie, Run Amok. It also stars Alyssa Marvin, Patrick Wilson, Margaret Cho, and Elizabeth Marvel.

In this era of rapid remakes, it is only natural that someone will someday try to explore the possibility of remaking a John Hughes classic. But Ringwald isn’t very keen on it.

“Well, they can’t be [remade] because they can’t be made without the permission of [the late] John Hughes, and he didn’t want the films to be remade,” she said. Moreover, she explained Hughes’ stance on the same, “And I don’t think that they should be really.”

Ringwald added that only The Breakfast Club could perhaps be remade in a modern setting. “I feel like if somebody does something, I would prefer that they do something … that takes from Breakfast Club and then builds on [it], and represents this generation’s issues rather than to try to recreate what was of a different time,” she added.

But Ringwald clarified that taking the themes of the movie into a modern concept would work. That is, instead of a complete remake of the movie.

But with permissions being the biggest issue, it is unlikely that any of the John Hughes films will get a remake anytime soon. They, however, remain timeless classics.