Nine out of ten times, when we hear about a foreign film being remade for American audiences, we here at The Flickcast are the first to agree that it will likely be terrible, and won’t do the original any justice. Then we heard that the remake of Oldboy will be taken on by acclaimed director Spike Lee.
Needless to say, we were intrigued. Now, the story is only getting better, as Jonah Hex himself, Josh Brolin, has been announced to take on the lead of the project. Here’s what Deadline has on the scoop.
It’s official: Brolin will topline the Mandate Pictures redo, which begins production in March. Brolin, who just wrapped Men in Black 3 with Will Smith, next begins work on Warner Bros’ Gangster Squad.
The new Oldboy has script adapted by Mark Protosevich, who will co-produce. Roy Lee and Doug Davison will produce via Vertigo Entertainment with Lee’s 40 Acres & A Mule. Mandate president Nathan Kahane will executive produce.
Good to hear this news, as names like Nic Cage and Will Smith were rumored to take on this incredibly intense role. Now we just have to hope that scribe Protesevich can maintain the audacity and intrigue that the original Oldboy script brought us years ago.
We’ll find out more as the project is set to start production next June.
