UPDATE: I had the roles mixed up. Ferrell is OUT as Madden, he’s being replaced by Jackman. Weird casting. Also, Tom Hanks is in talks to play Oakland Raiders football coach Al Davis.
EARLIER: David O. Russell has no less than five projects in development at the moment. There’s “Madden,” a Linda Ronstadt biopic, with Selena Gomez, the Get Smart reboot, a FIFA limited series, and “Toys” which has Sacha Baron Cohen and Keke Palmer attached to star.
I’m hearing “Madden” is next. A fall 2024 shoot is scheduled for that one. Will Ferrell is still supposed to star as John Madden, and we can now add Hugh Jackman’s name to the cast — he’s rumored to be playing NFL hall of famer Joe Montana.
“Madden” will focus on the former coach’s exit from the league and subsequent partnership with EA Sports to make the pioneering “Madden NFL” video game franchise. The film will recount the rivalry between Madden and Montana, the latter, his rival, in a race against time, was also developing his own video game
The script for “Madden,” written by Cambron Clark, has been part of the Blacklist for a few years now. No word on whether Russell tweaked the script to his own liking, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s done just that.
It seems as though there is still some prestige left in Russell’s brand of filmmaking as he’s constantly delivered critically acclaimed films over the course of his 30-year career, films such as Silver Linings Playbook, The Fighter, Three Kings, Flirting with Disaster and American Hustle cemented his A-list status.
Russell’s last effort was the ill-received “Amsterdam,” released in 2022, which lost 20th Century over $100 million. As you can see by the workload he currently has on his plate, and despite the controversies, he’s remains filmmaker studios still want to partner with.