A remake requires permission if the material being remade is copyrighted. You can't remake Star Wars without permission as the story and characters are protected under copyright and trademark laws.

Can you remake a movie without permission?

The owner of the rights to the original film may hold such motion picture and television rights to make a remake of the original film or such rights may have reverted to the original rights holder of the underlying work under the terms of the agreement between the original holder of the motion picture and television ...

Can you remake a film in the public domain?

There are many great films that are part of the public domain. This also means that in many cases you, yes you, can use these films for your own purposes. With many works in the public domain, you are free to edit, remake, or even use the characters in your own stories.