There was outrage when it was first announced that Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard had signed on to tackle a Face/Off remake, because there was literally no way that anyone would be able replicate the perfect storm of style, substance and circumstance that turned John Woo’s 1997 blockbuster into an instant action classic.
The furor subsided a little bit when Wingard cleared things up by revealing that he was actually developing a sequel and not a straightforward reboot, but the whole thing still feels completely unnecessary. After all, it was Woo’s mastery of choreographing phenomenal practical action on a massive scale, coupled with two equally scenery-chewing and self-aware performances from Nicolas Cage and John Travolta, that elevated Face/Off into the pantheon of action greatness, and it’s very unlikely that lightning will strike twice.
Wingard did admit that he’s not even going to bother making the movie if he doesn’t feel the script is up to scratch, but the entire concept of Face/Off hinges on casting the two leads, which is pivotal to winning over the skeptics and drawing in casual audiences as well. Fans would love to see Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman star, while Tom Hardy and Robert Pattinson have also been a popular suggestion, but a new rumor claims that Cage and Travolta are both in talks to return, despite the former’s character being dead by the time the credits rolled in the original.
There’s not much more information available other than that, but Cage and Travolta have hardly been choosy when it comes to picking their projects recently, so if there’s a justifiable way to bring them both back to the world of Face/Off, then it’s more than likely that they’d at least consider the idea should an offer come their way.
