A new remake of “Scarface” is being developed with Luca Guadagnino set to direct and the Coen Brothers attached as screenwriters. Weird, I know. There was originally a version with director Antoine Fuqua at the helm and Diego Luna in the starring role, but that was in development hell for some time before being completely scratched off by Universal.
As mentioned, and according to Deadline, Guadagnino is helming this “Scarface” remake for Universal, which had its draft recently rewritten by Joel and Ethan Coen. This will be the third “Scarface” movie, after the 1932 Chicago-set version and Brian De Palma’s 1980 film set in Miami, Guadagnino’s “Scarface” is expected to take place in Los Angeles.
Guadagnino is best known as the director of the 2017 critical favorite “Call Me By Your Name.” However, many critics believed he struck out with his most recent film, a daring reimagining of Dario Argento’s“Suspiria.” Meanwhile, the Coens have written and polished and been credited on four screenplays for other directors over the years: 1985’s “Crimewave,” 2014’s “Unbroken,” 2015’s “Bridge of Spies,” and 2017’s “Suburbicon.”
Reimagining “Scarface” is no doubt a risky endeavor, but there is a fanbase hungry for this type of film and the talents of Guadagnino and the Coen do make this a major curiosity. Let’s hope they can succeed in bringing “Scarface” back to the big screen.
Brady Corbet's “The Origin of the World,” his X-Rated epic about "Northern California’s economy" in the 1970s epic, has now started production in South Africa under the working title “SALT FLATS.”