I think that when an actor dies, in this case Rik Mayall, they feel compelled to do a remake of one of their movies.
He actually played a small character in the first Harry Potter movie, but his comic reputation in the UK was so great that all the young actors would break character and start laughing, despite several takes. Eventually he was able to make the scene on the other side of the building, but it was cut from the movie.
“I’m not trying to do anything spectacular except to change the fabric of our society and bring down the Government.” — Rik Mayall
Actually, the remake was first announced in 2009, long before he died.