The world of ReBoot will need an upgrade for a new generation — and yes, that includes the characters: Bob, Enzo, Dot, Phong, Hexadecimal, Megabyte and the whole gang are unlikely to be featured players any longer.
“I don’t think too many people would remember what a Dot Matrix is anymore,” said Hefferon.
That’s not to say your old favourites are gone forever. Hefferon says a mix of old and new is the most likely outcome.
“I think there’s always opportunities to bring characters back for fun cameo appearances,” he said.
“We’’re very big fans of the characters, the world, but now trying to say how do those characters and worlds fit today for a new generation of kids who don’t know anything about the previous ReBoot.”
Rainmaker and Mainframe are shooting for a “cross-family” approach, with gags and references that “will be a lot of fun for the existing ReBoot fans,” said Hefferon.
However, ReBoot will continue to be a kids’ show. And kids these days are more familiar with clouds, mobile technology and online gaming than with the single-player, human vs. computer-style games we saw in the original ReBoot. In 1994, families were just starting to have internet connections in their homes. Today, kids are practically born with an iPhone in hand.
With that in mind, the new show won’t just be a show. Hefferon said they’re planning a cross-platform experience that kids can engage with even when the show isn’t on. That means an app, interaction on social media with characters, earning points for participating online during broadcasts or viewers designing their own computerized characters.
“The ReBoot world has grown beyond a mainframe,” said Hefferon.
Though much will be new about ReBoot, the creators still want to harness the original show’s affinity for turning kids on to technology.