Andy and Lana Wachowski have written a modern, urban take on the Robin Hood myth for Warner Bros. that the duo plan to direct, the studio has confirmed to TheWrap.
The Wachowskis haven't officially signed on to direct the project, but that hasn't stopped them from reaching out to actors, as the secretive siblings are said to have their collective eye on Will Smith, according to the Hollywood Reporter, which first reported the deal.
I have no idea why the Wachowskis are considering doing another "Robin Hood" movie in the wake of the Ridley Scott's "Robin Hood," which was a critical, not to mention commercial disappointment (at least domestically) earlier this year. An urban take on the looting legend does sound intriguing, but it also feels like the Wachowskis are a few years too late.
Of course, this project wouldn't hit theaters until 2012 at the earliest, and by then audiences will have moved on from Scott's "Robin Hood," but still … I'm not so sure this will prove to be a good idea, especially if the Wachowskis are simply aiming to put the "hood" in "Robin Hood."
The Wachowskis have been working to solidify financing for their sure-to-be controversial Iraqi war movie "CN-9," which features a storyline in which two male soldiers fall in love.
Arianna Huffington, Salman Rushdie, Jesse Ventura and Cornel West have already filmed talking-head sequences for the hot-button project, which also incorporates a plot to assassinate George W. Bush.
The Wachowskis have called Warner Bros. home ever since they catapulted onto Hollywood's A-list with "The Matrix" in 1999. While the siblings' underrated take on "Speed Racer" may have tested the strength of their relationship with the studio, they still gave WB first-crack at "CN-9," and the "Robin Hood" project proves that the two sides have put "Speed Racer" in their rear-view mirror.
The Wachowskis are represented by WME and Circle of Confusion.
