I've been eager to see how Joe Carnahan will follow up 2012's “The Grey” (my number one movie that year). He had a stellar vision for “Daredevil” but Fox passed on it and gave up their lease, leading Marvel to develop the property with “Cabin in the Woods” director Drew Goddard as a series for Netflix. Coming this year (or maybe next – watch for a Toronto bow) is “Stretch” with Patrick Wilson and Chris Pine. And Carnahan has always had this and that lurking, whether an adaptation of James Ellroy's “White Jazz” or the Pablo Escobar story “Killing Pablo.” But it looks like the gritty “Five Against a Bullet” is on deck, and it sounds awesome.
While talking to Collider about “Transformers: Age of Extinction” (I don't even think junkets are for promoting the film at hand anymore), Lorenzo di Bonaventura revealed the director's involvement with the project, which tells the story of a Mexican politician who, after his father is killed by a drug cartel, hires the five best bodyguards from around the world to protect him through a contentious election.
“Joe we just put on a project called ‘Five Against a Bullet,” which I've loved for a long time,” di Bonaventura said. “It is a tale of a group of men who have become cynical, sort of lost their sense of hope about life and the world, who are rekindled and betrayed and rekindled and betrayed in this story, and it's got some of the coolest action and some of the greatest characters, and it's a really fantastic action movie that I think will really grab people. We have a great script and no doubt he'll put a little pen to paper as well, but we're already in great shape and Sony loves the project and no doubt we'll start trying to figure out how to cast that.”
As of about two years ago Bruce Willis was attached. I don't recall seeing a story about him falling out of the project but I imagine it's all starting fresh with Carnahan coming aboard.
People have been saying the film seems to recall stuff like “The Magnificent Seven” and “The Wild Bunch,” but it's not a western. Nevertheless, it occurred to me that Carnahan and his sensibilities would be perfect for that genre. Here's hoping he saddles up to one (so to speak) one of these days, but for now, “Five Against a Bullet” is probably going to fill out like a dream. It sounds like the sort of material that's right up Carnahan's alley, and I really just want this guy to keep making movies.