Halle Berryis set to star in a remake of the classic courtroom dramaJagged Edge. Sony is in the early stages of developing the remake, so much so that they don’t even have a writer attached at this time, but they’re putting the creative team together, which already includes an Oscar-winning actress. Doug Belgrad and Matti Leshem, who worked on the successful shark movieThe Shallows, are producing this remake for the studio.
Jagged Edgewas originally released in 1985. The movie was written by Joe Eszterhas (Basic Instinct) and centers on a lawyer named Teddy Barnes (Glenn Close) who reluctantly takes up the case of publisher Jack Forrester (Jeff Bridges), who isaccused of murdering his wifefor her money. As the trial develops, Barnes is kept guessing right to the very last minute as to whether Jack is an innocent man or a cunning, manipulative murderer. In the original movie, Barnes and Forrester start sleeping with one another, which really complicates things, amongst the other twists and turns that come along the way. But it’s a classic kind of story that could lend itself to a modern retelling.
Richard Marquand directedJagged Edge, which is one of his most notable movies not titledReturn of the Jedi. At the time of its release,Jagged Edgewas received quite well, ultimately earning the late Robert Loggia, who played a private detective in the movie, an Oscar nomination for his performance. He lost out to Don Ameche forCocoon. The movie was also a financial success at the time, bringing in $40 million working from a $15 million budget. $40 million may not sound like a lot by modern standards, but when inflation is accounted for, it makes for a return that most studios would be very happy with.
There’s no word on what role Halle Berry is set to play in theJagged Edgeremake. Logic would dictate that she would suit the Teddy Barnes part quite well, but we can’t rule out agender-swapped version of the movie. Remakes are amongst the most popular things in Hollywood right now, but gender-swapping roles is right up there as well. Sony could take that approach with this one, which could see Berry taking on the role of a wife accused of murdering her husband. But there’s no way of knowing just yet, as this is reportedly in the very early stages.
In any case, if this movie must be remade, it’s not a bad place to start. While Halle Berry has hadups and downs in her long career, she’s a terrific actress and won an Academy Award for her work inMonster’s Ball. She can also carry a blockbuster, having played Storm in the earlierX-Menmovies and, more recently, taking a role inKingsman: The Golden Circle. There’s no word yet on who is in line to possibly direct the new take onJagged Edge, but they’ve got to get a writer locked down first. Since this is in its early stages, there’s no word yet on a possible release date. This news comes to us courtesy ofThe Hollywood Reporter.
