It was just revealed over the weekend that, coming off the success of his The Grey, Joe Carnahan will bring to the big screen a remake of the 1974 revenge classic, Death Wish. Rather than specifically remaking the film franchise that starred Charles Bronson, however, Carnahan is planning to go back to the 1972 Brian Garfield novel.
“Guys,” he writes on his Twitter feed, “I’m doing ‘Death Wish.’ But this version is a re-imagining of the book and set in present day Los Angeles. The L.A. of ‘Collateral.’ It’s on buses, cabs, metro trains. I want to show an unseen version of L.A. L.A. on foot. Prowling. Hunting. The vast emptiness of downtown.”
Among the major differences between the original novel and the 1974 film are the name and profession of the lead character. In the book, he’s an accountant named Paul Benjamin and, in the film, an architect named Paul Kersey.
Though it’s likely too soon to begin speculating about the rest of the film’s cast, Carnahan does confirm that he plans to again work with The Grey actor Frank Grillo on the project and that the character he’s now writing will mark the first time he’s written a part with a specific actor in mind.
“Nobody said anything about Frank playing the Kersey part,” Carnahan is quick to note, “Relax folks. We have a plan.”
(Photo Credit: Nikki Nelson / WENN.com)
