Joe Carnahan Confirms He’s Remaking ‘Death Wish’

Joe Carnahan has took to his Twitter account to confirm recent reports that he’s set to helm a remake of the 1974 Charles Bronson classic ‘Death Wish.’ Carnahan also clarifies how his film differ from the Michael Winne-directed original, explaining that his version won’t be a remake, but rather a “re-imagining” of the novel by Brian Garfield. He says the film will be moved from New York City to present day Los Angeles, and his goal is to capture an unseen version of L.A. a la Michael Mann’s ‘Collateral,’“It’s on buses, cabs, metro trains. I want to show an unseen version of L.A. L.A. on foot. Prowling. Hunting. The vast emptiness of downtown.”

I generally don’t meet remakes or “re-imagines” with much enthusiasm, however, after seeing ‘The Grey’ this past week and considering Carnahan’s ‘Narc,’ a thought-provoking and ferociously gritty thriller, I really do believe Carnahan is the right man for the job. The thought of Liam Neeson, the lead star of Carnahan’s previous two movies ‘The Grey’ and ‘The A-Team,’ possibly stepping into Bronson’s shoes further adds to my enthusiasm. Carnahan also says that he isn’t dropping his Pablo Escobar passion project ’Killing Pablo,’ as the movie is still happening: “[Killing] Pablo is basically greenlit guys. That one isn’t going anywhere. Promise… KP is happening. I’m not letting that one slip away.” At this moment in time Carnahan isn’t letting up on which project we’ll be seeing on the big screen first. Hopefully we hear more on both projects soon.