After being coaxed into directing Equalizer 2, which was number one this weekend at the domestic box office, it looks Antoine Fuqua‘s third Scarface incarnation is finally coming together. Fuqua was announced as returning to the project back in February, after his replacement David Ayer had dropped out to focus on other projects.
Omega Underground has learned that Universal is now expecting a start sometime this October.
Over a year ago, we revealed that Atlanta and Los Angeles would be shooting locations, and that remains to be the case even with director David Ayer’s exit. However, they are now also now seeking to film in Mexico as well.
Moving from previous settings of Chicago [1932] and Miami [1983], the new story would mostly focus on Los Angeles. Taking the cues of the past two films with telling the story of an immigrant [Italian-American, Cuban-American, and now Mexican-American] who get’s overwhelmed with his violent quest for the American dream while navigating the criminal underworld and his rise to power. The last two films took direct real life inspiration from Al “Scarface” Capone and the hyper-violent Miami cocaine syndicates of the eighties, which is why the Mexican drug cartels are playing a role.
The script has undergone multiple incarnations but the impressive talent involved developing it includes Boardwalk Empire/Sopranos’ Terence Winter, No Country For Old Men’s Coen Brothers, and more recently Mexican-born Miss Bala screenwriter Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer.
Diego Luna had been once attached for the leading role and while his current participation is still uncertain, he has since taken a lead in Netflix’s season four of Narcos playing Gallardo drug cartel leader Félix Gallardo, opposite Michael Pena. While I believe some people might have been scratching their heads with Luna in this role he might prove them wrong as Narcos tends to show off the talents of their cast as characters they normally wouldn’t be playing and challenging them.
Universal has yet to give Scarface a new release date.
SOURCE: OMEGA UNDERGROUND