Byung-hun Lee & Jason Momoa Joins THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN Remake

Already set to play Aquaman in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Jason Momoa has signed up for a new cinematic ensemble project. According to The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline, the former “Game of Thrones” star and Byung-hun Lee (I Saw the Devil, G.I. Joe: Retaliation) in the role of Billy Rocks has joined the cast of Training Day director Antoine Fuqua’s The Magnificent Seven opposite Denzel Washington (who took home an Oscar for Training Day), Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Chris Pratt, The Equalizer‘s Haley Bennett, Boyhood‘s Ethan Hawke, Elite Squad‘s Wagner Moura and “Marvel’s Daredevil” star Vincent D’Onofrio. According to the trade, Momoa will play one of the film’s antagonists.

Originally drafted by “True Detective” scribe Nic Pizzolatto (since rewritten by The Blind Side‘s John Lee Hancock), The Magnificent Seven will remake the 1960 film directed by John Sturges that itself was inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 classic Seven Samurai. Sturges’ version starred Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn and Robert Vaughn as a group of disparate gunmen who come together to protect a Mexican village from bandits led by Eli Wallach. It led to a number of sequels as well as a CBS television series.

The new film is said to feature a victimized mining town, taken over by a gold baron, rather than the Mexican village of the original.

Vincent D’Onofrio In Talks For THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN Villain

The Magnificent Seven remake director Antoine Fuqua has largely been hiring either the conflicted heroes or someone who needs their help, with Denzel Washington Ethan Hawke, Chris Pratt and Haley Bennett set for the cast. Now he’s on the trail of the film’s main villain, with Vincent D’Onofrio in talks to co-star.

The movie will once more see a small town – in this case built around a gold mine – threatened by a ruthless baron (D’Onofrio, assuming he takes the role) and his gang of thugs. When they kill several people in their attempt to take the place over, a young widow (Bennett) hires a bounty hunter (Washington) to dispatch the bad guys, supplying him with the necessary funds to hire six gunmen to help him in his mission. Which is where Pratt, Hawke and others come into play. Fuqua is busy rounding up the rest of the cast for the film, aiming to kick off shooting within a month.

John Lee Hancock and True Detective’s Nic Pizzolatto are among those who have contributed to the screenplay, adapted from the classic Seven Samurai, which became the first crack at a Magnificent Seven in 1960. The new version is locking down a 2016 release date, but nothing is in the calendar yet.

The movie hasn’t started filming yet, but Sony has already set their sights on a release date according to ERC Box Office, and the plan is to release it on MLK Jr. weekend, January 13, 2017.

D’Onofrio has been on a run of playing several bad or at least morally complicated guys. He’ll be seen opposite Pratt in Jurassic World (out June 12) and is the Kingpin in Marvel/Netflix’s Daredevil, which hits the streaming service on April 10 in one 13-episode block.

Source: Variety 

Chris Pratt In Talks For "The Magnificent Seven" Reboot!

Pratt is reportedly in early talks for The Magnificent Seven, Antoine Fuqua‘s remake of the 1960 film. If all works out he’ll join Denzel Washington, who’s been attached since September. More on the possible Chris Pratt Magnificent Seven casting after the jump.

According to Deadline, who got the scoop, talks are still in the early stages. True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto wrote the script for Fuqua’s Magnificent Seven remake, and more recently John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, Snow White and the Huntsman) did a rewrite on it.

The original Magnificent Seven was directed by John Sturges and starred Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen as two of a group of gunslingers hired to protect a beleaguered Mexican village. Before anyone gets all up in arms about MGM re-doing The Magnificent Seven, it’s worth pointing out that the 1960 film was also a remake, of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai.

The new Magnificent Seven has been in the works for a few years already, with various A-listers attached at various points. Before Washington signed on, Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Costner were all linked to or rumored for the project. However, Washington is the only one set to star at this point.

Should he sign on, Pratt will play a character named Farraday who is not specifically modeled after any character from the 1960 movie. Fuqua’s version will be set right at the end of the Wild West era, shortly after the Civil War. Roger Birnbaum is producing.

Pratt is coming off of a fantastic year. He voiced the lead character in the Warner Bros. hit The Lego Movie, and became Marvel’s newest superhero (as well as a household name) with Guardians of the Galaxy. Next year he’ll star in Jurassic World and the final season of NBC’s Parks and Recreation.

His recent track record has put Pratt in high demand, and Magnificent Seven is one of a few films Pratt is considering at the moment. He’s also attached to lead Universal’s Cowboy Ninja Viking, in which he’ll play an assassin whose multiple personality disorder gives him the attributes of a cowboy, a ninja, and a viking.