Kiefer Sutherland to help the Flatliners remake lurch its way back to life

By William Hughes | July 8, 2016 | 1:48am

Aux Features Film

The producers of the upcoming Flatliners remake have secured an appearance from a guy who knows his way around a briefly occupied grave: original Flatliners star Kiefer Sutherland. The actor—who portrayed a scientist who temporarily (but repeatedly) killed himself to see what the afterlife was like in the 1990 sci-fi thriller—has apparently made some space in his busy TV-president schedule to star opposite Ellen Page, Nina Dobrev, and Diego Luna in the new film.

It’s not clear if Sutherland will be reprising his role as Nelson Wright, the researcher who found out that bad things happen to those who mess with life after death. (Spoiler alert for a 26-year-old movie: It involves G-G-G-GHOSTS!) Deadline simply lists the character as a “a seasoned doctor,” meaning his role could merely be a reference to the past film, leaving the old “remake, or sequel?” debate as alluringly open as the question of what happens to our souls after we depart this world. (Although this quandary does seems more likely to be resolved without the intervention of ’90s-era Oliver Platt.)