After languishing in development for several years, Paramount and MGM’s long-awaitedDeath Wishremake is finally moving forward.Deadlinereports thatBruce Willishas signed on to star, with Israeli filmmakers Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado (Big Bad Wolves) coming aboard to direct. Paramount and MGM will distribute theremake, which hopes to get production started this summer.
The original 1974 Death Wish starredCharles Bronsonas an ordinary man who becomes a dangerous vigilante after his wife is killed by street thugs, who also raped his daughter.Joe Carnahanwas initially attached to direct, and he also wrote a draft of the screenplay, before hedropped outof the project back in 2013. The filmmaker left the project over a casting dispute, since both Paramount and MGM wanted to castBruce Willis, but the director wanted to go in a different direction.
We reported in 2012 thatJoe Carnahanwanted to castRussell Croweas the main character Paul Kersey, played byCharles Bronsonin the original classic, withFrank Grilloeyed to play Paul’s brother, a character who wasn’t featured in the original movie.Gerardo Naranjo(Miss Bala) entered talks to direct the remake back in 2013, but that was the last we heard of the project until now. AfterJoe Carnahanparted ways with the project, the script was later worked on byDan Gilroy(Nightcrawler) andGraham Yost(Justified).
The project is said to stick closer to the original Brian Garfield novel than the first movie. It isn’t known if directors Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado will also work on the script, or if Paramount and MGM will bring on new writers. The filmmakers made their directorial debuts with Rabies, which they followed up with the 2014 cult classicBig Bad Wolves.
Bruce Willisis attached to star inDie Hard Year One, aprequelto the iconic franchise where he will appear in present-day scenes that will bookend the movie. The actor recently starred inRock the KasbahandExtraction, and he will next be seen inWakeandMarauders. What do you think aboutBruce Willisstarring in a remake ofDeath Wish?
