Joe Carnahan To Write/Direct Death Wish Remake

Joe Carnahan has to be feeling pretty good this morning. He played in the sandbox with commercially-driven studio fare and gave the world The A-Team. Nobody showed up. Its failure not only killed the chance of that sequel with Jon Hamm as the baddie, but it, by Carnahan's admission, led him to The Grey, which just opened at the top of this weekend’s box-office.

And while yours truly dug his heavily-thematic story of death, you'd be a fool to not see the point of view from those livid at the ending. When you market your survivalist drama as "Liam Neeson vs. Wolves," you'd damn-well better deliver that. But that's all beside the point. Even if The Grey plummets next weekend (a genuine possibility), Carnahan is hot and other producers, executives, etc. are looking at him, and as 24 Frames reports, MGM and Paramount are the first to grab him.

Both studios, in a co-production deal, have committed Carnahan to write and direct the remake of Death Wish, the Charles Bronson-starrer of an architect-turned-vigilante after the murder of his wife caused a ruckus for its day with its depiction of violence and rap. Its success also turned an intended stand-alone effort into a ridiculous franchise including the fake (but amusing and dead-on) Death Wish 9 from The Simpsons in case you were curious what that picture came from.

Not what I had in mind for Carnahan post-The Grey (Was hoping he could finally get White Jazz going), but a Death Wish remake? Sure, why not.