Chuck Russell has had an odd but interesting career. In the last 20 years he’s only made six movies, staring off with Nightmare On Elm Street 3, and ending with 2002’s The Scorpion King, although inbetween he did direct The Mask and Arnie’s Eraser. It’s not the most illustrious set of movies, but most of them are oddly entertaining in a sort of I-can’t-believe-anyone-has-put-this-on-screen sort of way. Now he’s planning to return with a $70 million, 3D reworking of the Arabian Nights stories, which he’s co-written with Barry P. Ambrose.
Variety reports that in a new spin on the classic, the story follows a young commander who, after his king is killed in a palace coup, joins forces with Sinbad, Aladdin and his genie to rescue Scheherazade and her kingdom from dark powers. I already can’t believe someone would put that on screen, so it sounds like it should follow in the footsteps of Russell’s earlier films.
It’s difficult not to see this film’s announcement as a pre-emptive bet that next year’s Prince Of Persia movie will ignite an interest in middle-eastern fantasies, which this movie can then capitalise on.
The film is due to start shooting next spring, with Russell planning to bring all the 3D digital tricks he can muster to the movie, so that he can, “quite literally take audiences around the world on a magic carpet ride.”