Hollywood has been trying to get a Harry Houdini movie off the ground for well over a decade, but at no stage has it been designed as a straightforward biopic detailing the life and times of the legendary escape artist.
Instead, the project has almost always been focused on adapting The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero, which may or may not have been rooted in fact. Speed 2, Rush Hour 2, and Catch Me If You Can scribe Jeff Nathanson was first announced to be tackling the script way back in 2009, but it failed to materialize.
Galaxy Quest director Dean Parisot looked to be putting the Houdini adventure back into development with Johnny Depp in the lead role for a while, but that never came together either. 10 Cloverfield Lane‘s Dan Trachtenberg was also speculated to be taking a pass, but the latest name to try and bring the illusionist to the big screen is Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.
As per Deadline, the veteran is teaming up with Mark Vahradian to steer the ship, with Neil Weidener and Gavin James already tasked to hammer out a screenplay. The latest stab at reinventing Houdini is said to be looking towards Guy Ritchie and Robert Downey Jr.’s heightened Sherlock Holmes franchise for inspiration, which does at least fit with di Bonaventura’s penchant for almost exclusively lending his name to big budget blockbusters.
Published: Mar 2, 2022 01:21 pm