Director Antoine Fuqua is having a bit of a nostalgia fest at the moment. Not only has he resurrected THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN and recruited old buddy Denzel Washington to take the lead, he’s now approaching Ethan Hawke about sharing the screen with Washington again.
The pair memorably appeared in Fuqua’s TRAINING DAY (2001) and Hawke went on to star in the helmer’s BROOKLYN’s FINEST (2010). Presumably the idea is to recreate the chemistry between original actors Steve McQueen and Yul Brynner.
They’ll be riding the range with Chris Pratt and Haley Bennett. John Hancock has written the script, which is an adaptation of an adaptation – the source material being Akira Kurosawa’s SEVEN SAMURAI.
Four movies were made out of the MAGNIFICENT SEVEN concept, so MGM clearly have sequels in mind. Fuqua appears to be hitching his wagon to the franchise market of late – his last high-profile project was THE EQUALIZER starring Washington.
Hawke is undergoing a career surge following his BOYHOOD Oscar nod, and sci-fi thriller PREDESTINATION got good notices. Should he sign on for this reboot it’ll send his stock soaring faster than a horse with freshly-heated shoes.
Source: Variety
