Chalk one more title up on the board marked “Remakes.” Though this one is more of the wheel of cinematic life turning, as The Magnificent Seven is remade by Hollywood. MGM has decided to dip once more into the cupboard of title rights it owns and is now developing a new version of John Sturges' 1960 classic with Tom Cruise attached to star.
Before you get all up in high dudgeon about the desecration of a classic, remember that The Magnificent Seven is itself a remake of Seven Samurai. This one is still at a very embryonic stage, with no director or writer attached, though Variety has heard that the company is even now kicking off the hunt for someone to scribble the script. So we don’t yet know whether it will exactly follow the plot of the original, which sees a group of American gunmen hired to protect a Mexican village from a group of bandits.
There’s also no word on which of the movie’s meaty characters Cruise is interested in. He already has plenty of active and potential pics on his plate already, so it’s anyone’s guess when this one will actually get moving.
Cruise will next be seen sporting leather pants for Rock Of Ages, which is out here on June 15. He’s already filmed Jack Reacher adaptation** One Shot **and is at work on Joseph Kosinski’s sci-fi tale Oblivion. Once that’s complete, he’ll move on to another futuristic tale, Doug Liman’s All You Need Is Kill.