While the title might not inspire much excitement initially, Highwaymen is an intriguing project that once had Robert Redford and Paul Newman attached to star. It tells the story of the two newly-christened Texas rangers who chased the infamous robbers Bonnie and Clyde to their bloody end. The film repeatedly stalled and was left to sit around, but it’s being resurrected.
Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson are in talks to play the two rangers, with John Lee Hancock (The Founder, The Blind Side) set to direct. Netflix is attempting to produce the film as a Netflix Original, but must first come to a deal with Universal who currently hold the rights to the film. John Fusco wrote the original script.
If the project goes ahead, Costner would portray Frank Hamer, with Harrelson playing Manny Gault, with the film told from the perspective of the group of authorities spearheaded by Hamer.
It’s an interesting idea that might suffer from easy comparisons to the classic 1967 Bonnie & Clyde film, which helped launched the New Hollywood movement and remains influential to this day. Audiences were captivated by the brutality of the film as well as the fact that the two infamous killers were portrayed as protagonists.
Subverting that original subversion into a more generic cops-vs-bad guys story might not work, but on the other hand it could be an interesting way to have the same story told from the other side of the law. If Harrelson and Costner sign on the dotted line, there will at least be a reliable, veteran presence to keep the film watchable as Netflix searches for their first bonafide movie hit.
#Peace.Love.Highwaymen
