After a somewhat quiet stretch between 2009’s “Brooklyn’s Finest” and last year’s “Olympus Has Fallen,” it turns out Antoine Fuqua was simply preparing something of a massive return to the big screen. Suddenly the director has boxing drama “Southpaw” and “Narco Sub” in the pipeline, following his actioner “The Equalizer” that opens in the fall, but one other project — the long-gestating “Magnificent Seven” remake — seems his for the taking as well, and it may have a familiar face and collaborator attached.
In their efforts to add another remake of back-catalogue titles to their slate, trailing “Robocop,” “Poltergeist,” “Road House” and many more to come, “ MGM offered the “Magnificent Seven” directing gig to Fuqua last week. The director’s response has yet to be announced, but according to Schmoes Know not only has he decided to take the gig, he’s already made an offer to Denzel Washington for the lead role. It’s a logical choice, as Washington has been a longtime component to Fuqua’s career and vice versa (see: “Training Day”), but the film also poses an interesting avenue for the actor, who has never really tackled the Western genre head on.
Supposedly this means a final draft of the script has been agreed upon, after John Lee Hancock (“The Blind Side,” “Saving Mr. Banks“) stepped in to re-write the Nic Pizzolatto’s first stab at the story. But with as many options as Fuqua has right now, we’ll wait and see if Washington and a western are indeed in his near future.
