Variety is reporting that Steven Spielberg and Will Smith “are in early discussions to collaborate on a remake of Korean director Chan Wook-park’s Old Boy. Spielberg, who is slated to direct his Tintin film next (see “New Tintin Film Deal”), is reportedly seeking the remake rights for Old Boy for his Dreamworks studio. If the deal comes together, Smith would play the role of a man who is mysteriously imprisoned for 15 years, and then just as mysteriously released and set on a path to discover who ruined his life and why.
While, as Variety reports, the project is still in its early stages, a remake of Old Boy could be a major plus for pop culture retailers, since the 2003 Korean film (which has garnered considerable international acclaim including top honors at the Cannes Film Festival) is closely based on an 8-volume seinen manga series written by Garon Tsuchiya and illustrated by Nobuaki Minegishi. Dark Horse has published all eight volumes of the Old Boy manga here in