KOTOR really just needed a remaster to make the game run at modern resolutions etc without spotty mod support etc.
Not sure what a remake can possibly bring to the table that would be better.
Not sure why Aspyr wouldn't just make a new KOTOR game if they're already putting the effort in to rebuild KOTOR from scratch.
I would be happy with a simple remaster, and it would certainly be a safer option.
That doesn't mean a remake can't be better, but being tied to expectations more than a new game would will make convincing people of that much harder. Heard a line in a GDC presentation once that was something like "players know what they like, they don't know what they want, it's up to you (the developer) to tell them what they want." It was the start of an explanation about how players may perceive different aspects of games, and how the developer should be convincing the player through the game (in a sequel or spiritual successor) to try something different. A full remake of an old game that was well received is probably the worst place you can try to convince some people to try something different.
It probably wasn't Aspyr's choice. They could have offered up a new game, KOTOR or other Star Wars or something completely different, that the publisher and IP holder then gave direction to turn into a KOTOR remake, or they may have been assigned the remake from the start, or they might have been told the remake was the only way they would get to make their game or work on this IP.
after ME: Andromeda does anyone still have any faith in BioWare?
these are not the same people who made KOTOR or even the spiritual successor, Mass Effect.
Many of the people who made Andromeda may be gone as well, and many of the higher ups who made KOTOR and Mass Effect haven't done much since. I think the concept of pedigree within developers shouldn't be viewed the same way as it was 20-30 years ago when smaller teams of largely the same people churned out games at a much faster rate. With development times increasing many developers don't look remotely the same between the start and end of development, and that doesn't even take into consideration the smaller support studios that are often involved on larger projects these days. Probably worth being a little skeptical about a new game from Bioware or anybody else who has had similar stumbles and failures in recent years, but not worth completely dismissing them either. From Disney's perspective, not giving this to Bioware probably has more to do with EA than with Bioware.