A couple of years ago, fans of Park Chan Wook’s Oldboy were up in arms when it was announced a US remake was in the works, with Will Smith starring and Steven Spielberg directing. However that eventually fell to bit due to rights issues (the company who owned the film rights to Wook’s movies didn’t have the right to set up a remake without the agreement of the people who own the graphic novel it’s based on, but they did so anyway).
However those rights problems have been sorted, and while Smith and Spielberg are no longer involved, Twitch is reporting that Spike Lee is in now talks to direct the remake of Oldboy. The 2005 movie was about a man is inexplicably kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years. He is abruptly released, only for a mysterious person to contact him, teasing information about his long confinement. This sets off much violence and revenge, as past sins are brought to light and the man tries to get back at those who wronged him.
As revealed last November, Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend) is writing the script. Lee could actually be a good choice for this, although with all the problems the remake has had getting this far, it’s still a long way from saying it’ll actually get made.