Molly Ringwald may have become a household name thanks to her starring roles in John Hughes films like 16 Candles and Pretty in Pink, but the actor isn’t lobbying for remakes of coming-of-age films any time soon, and she doesn’t think Hughes will either.
“Well, you can’t[remake]it, because you can’t do it without the permission of[the late]John Hughes, and he didn’t want the movie to be remade,” Ringwald told People at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. “And I really don’t think it should be.”
But that doesn’t mean Ringwald isn’t open to new interpretations of the iconic film’s central story. The actor noted that of all Hughes’ films, the most relevant is likely the 1985 cult classic The Breakfast Club.
“If someone is going to do something, I hope they take it from ‘The Breakfast Club’ and build on it and do something that represents the issues of this generation, rather than trying to recreate something from another era,” she said.
Ringwald also said that she still sees her former castmates from time to time. “I think I see Jon Cryer the most, but I love them all. I love Annie, I love Annie Potts, and I see Andrew McCarthy every once in a while…I can’t believe it’s been 40 years (since Pretty in Pink premiered),” she said.
Hughes’ films are widely considered to be the defining works of the ’80s. In 2009, the beloved film director died of a heart attack at the age of 59.
Ringwald attended Sundance for the premiere of her new film, “Run Amok,” a musical reenactment of the school shooting that took place 10 years ago about 13-year-old high school freshman Meg.
More recently, Ringwald appeared in the movies “Montauk,” “The Chase,” “The Kissing Booth,” and the TV shows “Feud,” “Riverdale,” and “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.”
