By Joe Carnahan, director of The Grey and The A-Team, has signed on to write and direct the long-in-gestation remake of notorious ’70s thriller Death Wish. The original, which propelled the late, great Charles Bronson to superstardom, told the story of a Korean War vet whose family is murdered by street thugs, against whom he wages a particularly bloody war of retribution with his iconic Smith & Wesson revolver. Jeff Goldblum played ‘Freak #1’, a role he will hopefully be reprising just for the laughs.
Death Wish stood out when first released for its violence and controversial presentation of vigilantism as a heroic act. It’s going to be significantly harder to achieve that level of notoriety these days, with vigilante revenge movies not exactly rare, so will be interesting to see how (or if) Carnahan makes his movie stand out from the crowd. The actor in the lead role will be an important part of that and given Carnahan’s history of casting Liam Neeson (see the header), could this be another vehicle for him to show off his newfound badassery as Bronson’s heir apparent?
[Via Empire]