Wait for it…wait for it…THERE! Collective fanboy groan can clearly be heard across the internet.
It is true, Paul W.S. Anderson, prince of fan spite everywhere (and poised to take the throne should King Uwe perish in some boxing-related tragedy), is gearing up a Three Musketeers flick and he’s slapping the 3-D on it, says THR.com. Gotta say, I didn’t see that one coming, especially from a guy who plays almost exclusively in sci-fi (or is it Syfy now?) circles. W.S. is apparently looking to make it contemporary, while also keeping the swashbuckling period motif present. “We are definitely modernizing The Three Musketeers without
compromising the fun of shooting a period piece,” said Anderson, who
hopes to shoot in France and Germany. “But in our film, corsets and
feathered hats don’t take center stage. Our version is rich in
eye-popping action, romance and adventure.” Do I hear a Knight’s Tale take on the Dumas classic? Sounds like it.
W.S. and Andrew Davies (Bridget Jones’ Diary, The Tailor of Panama) have written the script and W.S. will be producing with his Impact Pictures partner, Jeremy Bolt and also Robert Kulzer of Constantin Film. For those of you not schooled in the classics nor Charlie Sheen flicks, The Three Musketeers is the 1844 Alexandre Dumas tale of d’Artagnan, a young Frenchman who looks to join up with the King’s fighting force, the Musketeers, and befriends three of their best members: the mavericks Athos, Porthos and Aramis. “All for one and one for all” is frequently heard in any version you come across. Musketeers is one of the most richly mined stories in Hollywood, with versions that go back to 1903. The last version was Peter Hyams’ The Kung Fusketeer back in 2001.
W.S. is looking to shoot next year for a 2011 release. He also has his take on Castlevania, as well as Resident Evil: Afterlife on deck.