We learned back in October of last year that John Sayles had agreed to at least write the script for Franco Nero's return to the iconic character of Django with a film called Django Lives! Now comes more detail and the exciting news that Sayles will also direct the movie.
According to Showbiz 411, Sayles has come up with a concept that finds Django 50 years after his original outing (fitting since Django premiered in 1966), and working as both a horse handler and extra on the set of D.W. Griffith's Birth Of A Nation. It sounds like Sayles blending two halves of his career, merging pulp action with social commentary.
There's no official word on the film yet, but it certainly seems to be coming together well. The current plan is for Sayles to start shooting the film with Nero in September. "John Sayles is a master of literature,” said the actor and producer when Sayles was first attached. “His Lone Star is one of the greatest modern Westerns ever shot. He knows how to be exquisitely cultivated and people-oriented at the same time, exactly like another master I’ve worked with, Mr. Orson Welles. And that says a lot.” Wonder if Quentin Tarantino will ask for a cameo?