Fans of the Oscar-winning Silence of the Lambs -- many of whom were less than enthused when they heard about Hannibal, the Jodie Foster-and-Jonathan Demme-less sequel to the original -- may have been surprised to learn that Universal is now planning a third film in the series: Red Dragon. The film is a "prequel" to Silence of the Lambs and will be based on the book of the same name. These same fans may have been further taken aback when they heard that the project will be helmed by none other than Brett Ratner, the director behind such memorable standards as Money Talks, Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2, and The Family Man.

Some might question whether young Mr. Ratner -- last seen doing publicity rounds for Rush Hour 2, sharing with the nation's press corps the inspirational tale of how he talked his way into NYU at age sixteen, only to become America's most honoured rap-video-director-turned- lucrative-buddy-comedy- film-director -- is a prudent choice as the man to take the reins of the beloved Hannibal franchise. (Finicky cinephiles might also point out that Red Dragon has already been made into a movie -- 1986's cult favourite Manhunter, directed by Michael Mann and starring C.S.I.'s William Petersen and Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecter. Of course, that version, sturdy though it may be, certainly doesn't evince the kind of sweeping vision that critics have come to refer to as "Ratnerian.")

Fametracker has learned, however, that Red Dragon is only one of the projects currently on Mr. Ratner's dance card. In fact, the young auteur has been engaged to undertake several vital continuations and updates of popular classics. Here's what movie fans have to look forward to in the coming months:

Guess Who's Staying For Dessert?
Release date: Christmas 2001

In Ratner's "reimagining" of the 1967 landmark Guess Who's Coming For Dinner?, young Joey Drayton (Julia Stiles) arranges to bring home her boyfriend to meet her well-meaning but uptight suburban parents (Jane Kaczmerek, Patrick Warburton). But they're in for the shock of their life when they come face-to-face with her new beau -- played by Rush Hour's Chris Tucker! Laughter is on the menu as director Ratner proves that sometimes tolerance only goes skin deep, but humour is still the universal language -- especially when Tucker meets the Drayton's lisping East Indian next-door neighbour, Mr. Panjami!

Even This End Is Up?!
Release date: Summer 2002

In this sequel to the popular '70s films Every Which Way But Loose and Any Which Way You Can, Clint Eastwood returns as easy-going trucker Philo Beddoe, with Jennifer Love Hewitt co-starring as his love interest, Echo (originally played by Beverly D'Angelo). This time, Eastwood's lost his beloved orangutan sidekick, Clyde -- who's been kidnapped by the Hell's Angels -- but he's picked up a new passenger: stowaway Sammy Chang (Jackie Chan), a Falun Gong practitioner on the run from the Chinese authorities! It's truck-stop meets karate-chop in this high-rolling action comedy, as Eastwood and Chan roll across America in search of the stolen simian, leaving a trial of broken noses, broken promises, and broken English!

It's Still a Wonderful Life
Release date: Christmas 2002

In this sequel to the 1943 Frank Capra classic, Nicolas Cage stars as construction worker and Vietnam vet Jango Bailey, grandson of George Bailey (originally played by Jimmy Stewart). After being laid off from his job on the day before Christmas, Bailey -- haunted by the failures of his own life and the pressures of living in the shadow of his saintly grandfather -- hits the local bar, planning to drink up the courage to end his wretched existence. But when he sidles up next to a scruffy drifter -- and angel in disguise (Tom Sizemore) -- the stranger offers to show Bailey what the world would have been like if he had never been born. Drifting through the ether as two ghostly forms, Sizemore and Cage float over his home town before witnessing the rape and murder of Cage's wife (Anne Heche) at the hands of local drug lord Carlos Potter (John Malkovich) and his vicious cronies, who then abduct Cage's son (Jonathan Lipnicki) so that Potter can raise him to fight in underground bloodsport death matches. Enraged, Cage begs Sizemore to send him back to earth -- and back to life. Once returned, Cage rounds up a crew of his old 'Nam buddies -- Boscoe (David Caruso), Treetrunk (Michael Clarke Duncan), and Squirrely Sam (Steve Buscemi) -- to deliver their own brand of Christmas cheer to Potter and his posse. The final showdown is punctuated by Cage uttering the movie's memorable tagline: "Yule Pay."

Thelma & DeLuise
Release date: Undisclosed

In this homage to the controversial 1991 hit Thelma & Louise, Ratner follows suburban housewife Thelma Dickinson (Kirsten Dunst) and failed bowling-alley proprietor Louie Sawyer (Dom DeLuise) as they take to the road to escape their humdrum lives -- and join a cross-country race for a twenty-million-dollar jackpot! The high-jinks hit high gear when the pair pick up a mincing window dresser named Sashay (Chris Tucker) who's trying to escape an abusive lover (Meshach Taylor) and win the money to start his own fashion label. Of course, they'll have to find the money before they're thwarted by arrogant political scion John Jackson Jr. (Peter Gallagher). The race is on, and the payoff is big laughs!