According to Deadline Hollywood, Universal is close to securing David Yates to direct their new David Ayer-scripted version of Scarface, and there are two ways to look at it (the same two ways that cropped up back in 2011 when the studio first announced its development):
- Lament a falling sky while quoting Tony Montana endlessly; or
- Recognize that a remake of Scarface is really a retelling of a foreigner’s story in a new place as he navigates the underworld.
Boiled down, it’s a pretty simple plot that’s been tackled far more than Howard Hawks’ and Briand De Palma’s official versions. Plus, Yates is an excellent filmmaker with a keen sense for raw storytelling and action, so it might be fun to watch him let loose with more blood than he got with Harry Potter. Better yet, he could recruit Daniel Radcliffe to say, “This town’s like a great big pussy just waiting to get fucked.” Better than better yet, this affords Michael Bolton a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Just please don’t have the main character be a bath salts dealer. Anything but that.
