After Tony Scott passed away, many suspected that his planned reboot of The Wild Bunch would never see the light of day. According to The Wrap though, Warner Bros. have brought in Will Smith to revive the project by producing and starring in it. No director has been chosen as of yet but the current draft of the script was written by David Ayer and Brian Helgeland, though the studio may give it to a new writer for a re-write.
The reboot will take place near the Texas-Mexico border and be set in the present day. It will deal with drug cartels and a disgraced D.E.A. agent, presumably played by Smith. We haven’t heard anything on other cast members just yet but apparently the studio is hoping to give their star a “strong ensemble.”
If you’re unfamiliar with the original, which was directed by Sam Peckinpah and is considered by most to be a classic (at least in the Western genre), it followed
“an aging outlaw gang on the Texas-Mexico border, trying to exist in the changing “modern” world of 1913.”
The film starred actors like William Holden, Robert Ryan and Ernest Borgnine and for its time, caused quite a controversy due to what most critics called “extreme violence.” Hopefully Smith and company won’t hold back in this reboot as I expect the studio to deliver an equally gritty tale.
What do you think of Will Smith starring in a remake of The Wild Bunch? Is that something you’d like to see? Let us know in the comments below.
