Mel Gibson has been set by Warner Bros to direct The Wild Bunch, a new version of the 1969 Sam Peckinpah-directed classic. Gibson is writing the script with Bryan Bagby. Gibson will be executive producer.
The project is based on the classic Peckinpah film that follows an aging group of outlaws look for one last big score even as what they viewed as the wild west is slowly passing them by. They are pursued by a posse led by a former partner they double-crossed. Peckinpah wrote the script with Walon Green. The pic had an all-star cast that included William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O’Brien, Warren Oates, Jaime Sanchez and Ben Johnson.
According to THR, the remake has been revived with Gibson at the helm. The project marks the first directing gig for Gibson since 2016’s Hacksaw Ridge, which earned him an Oscar nomination as director.
The film was originally considered exceptionally violent, but it later came to be considered a stylistic masterpiece. Warner Bros has tried several times to mount a remake, but it seems in good hands with Gibson. From Best Picture winner Braveheart to films like Apocalypto and the recent Best Picture nominee Hacksaw Ridge, Gibson has distinguished himself as one of the best directors of action working in the business.
The Wild Bunch movie would not be Gibson’s next project. That remains Destroyer, his World War II Navy movie that he hopes to get going in 2019.
Source: THR
