Any Edgar Wright fans out there?
I find Wright to be an incredibly talented visual filmmaker, but he also has an annoying penchant for infantilism and silliness. There’s a film geek sensibility to his movies that can sometimes rubs me the wrong way. With that being said, his best film is probably “Baby Driver” and its incredible usage of practical effects (save for the absurdly over-the-top final 20 minutes).
With that said, it sure looks as though his rumored project “The Chain” has been shelved, for now, and that he’s eyeing as his next film a remake of 1987’s “The Running Man.” Producer Simon Kinberg is saying that they’re eyeing a 2024 production start:
We are working on it actively. He’s actively working on the script with Michael Bacall. And our hope would be that it is a movie that, again, all fingers crossed and luck and everything else go our way, that Edgar could maybe direct next year.
Wright has mentioned in the past that if there’s ever one movie that he’d love to remake then it’s “The Running Man.” Based on a novel by Stephen King, the source material has already been turned into an ‘80s movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Here’s the synopsis:
“Set in 2025, the story follows a man named Ben Richards while he participates in a deadly game show, called The Running Man, which sees him declared an enemy of the state and hunted by a ground of murderous hitmen”
In February 2021, Deadline reported that Wright was attached to direct the film. Wright is coming off the worst-reviewed movie of his career: 2019’s “Last Night in Soho.” He still has his ardent fans who will go see whatever he does next, he’s built up this base of support with such films as “Hot Fuzz,” “Scott Pilgrim vs The World” and “Shaun of the Dead.”
Wright has mentioned that he is working on a "Baby Driver" sequel “A first draft of "Baby Driver 2” exists with a different set of characters than the first one, but it looks as though “The Running Man” might be next for him.
Reeves is supposed to direct, David E. Kelley is writing, and just like that, Apple got cold feet — the usual “creative differences” excuse is being cited in the report, and maybe that was indeed the case.