Brian De Palma‘s 1983 classic crime movie Scarface revolves around the rise and fall of a drug kingpin. So far, the proposed remake has only been falling. Universal last year removed the film from their release calendar, where it was originally scheduled to hit cinemas on August 10, 2018, making the film seem as dead as a victim of a stray Tony Montana bullet.
However, Scarface has now shown some signs of life. Antoine Fuqua (The Equalizer) has reportedly circled back to the film having originally dropped out last year and re-engaged in talks to direct the film. Fuqua is back in early discussions with Universal and per Deadline, “things are looking good as the negotiations get underway”.
So it seems possible that the film will have another chance to see the light of day, but if so, it’ll probably be with a new lead actor. Diego Luna (Rogue One) looked close to a sure thing to snag the lead role, but with all the delays, its possible his schedule will not match up to the production date of the new film.
The remake has had a rocky production history. David Yates (Harry Potter) was in talks to direct during the early days of the project, before Fuqua got involved, as did Pablo Larrain (Jackie). Suicide Squad director David Ayer was then brought on board to direct and pen a new script, but he too dropped off the project after reports suggested his vision was “too dark”.
A previous draft of the script comes from the Coen brothers, which would be hugely exciting, but that screenplay has since been reworked by Ayer, Jonathan Herman and others, making it more likely to be a convoluted mess than another classic script by the brothers.
The remake has been transported from Miami to modern-day Los Angeles, and if Fuqua signs on, he’s expected to put his own spin on the classic film that was first brought to the silver screen in 1932 by Howard Hawks.
We’ll see whether Fuqua does eventually sign on again, but if so, he’ll still have to complete The Equalizer 2 before getting started on Scarface. Universal has not announced a new release date for the film.
#Peace.Love.Scarface
