There’s no official news that a Princess Bride remake is in the works – don’t panic – but the mere mention of the idea has been descended on by fans of the original, with the actor Jamie Lee Curtis, the film’s original star Cary Elwes, and even the US senator Ted Cruz among those declaring it “inconceivable”.

The drama began with a Variety profile of the film’s producer Norman Lear. In the article, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s chief executive, Tony Vinciquerra, was quoted as saying: “Very famous people whose names I won’t use, but they want to redo The Princess Bride … Not a month goes by when we don’t have an idea coming from some very big name wanting to do things with Norman.”

It was a tiny sentence in a small paragraph of a large profile but it was also the quote that Variety used to share the piece. This led to an outcry, with Elwes – who played Westley in the 1987 Rob Reiner cult classic – among many who took to Twitter to lament the idea.

“There’s a shortage of perfect movies in this world,” he tweeted. “It would be a pity to damage this one.”

Curtis, who married another of the film’s stars, Christopher Guest, also joined the fray, saying “there is only ONE The Princess Bride”.

And Cruz called the film “the greatest thing in the world”, adding his own quote from the original.

Climbing further up the Cliffs of Insanity, Seth Rogen was forced to deny his involvement in the project.

Others noted that attempting to remake the widely beloved and famously quotable film, which the Guardian said was the 23rd best sci-fi and fantasy film of all time, was inadvisable in the extreme.

Based on the 1973 novel by William Goldman, the original film wasn’t a box office hit when it debuted in 1987 but has since become beloved as a cult classic.

To do it over, many believe, would add insult to injury to a generation who have been smothered by remakes. Aladdin, The Lion King, Dumbo and The Dark Crystal – whose original was released four years before The Princess Bride – are among the latest examples of the film industry’s pitch for the nostalgia buck, a strategy which has mixed success.

As one Twitter user put it: “I like that in these chaotic times we can all put aside our differences and agree that no one should remake The Princess Bride.”