Upon hearing news about a project that Hugh Jackman is circling, regarding robotic boxing, one could describe it as Rocky meets Surrogates. But considering how the latter movie just did, one might not. Still, according to Variety, Jackman is in talks to star in Real Steel, for DreamWorks. Pic centers around a fighter who has to reinvent himself when human boxers are
replaced by robots. Jackman is negotiating to play the ex-fighter, who
becomes a struggling Robot Boxing promoter and finds a discarded robot
that always seems to win. He also discovers he has a 13-year-old son,
and they bond as the robot brawls its way toward the top.
The original story was a short by Richard Matheson and the original script was done by Dan Gilroy (Two For the Money) and has been rewritten by Les Bohem (The Alamo) and is currently being reworked by Justin Gatins and director Shawn Levy. It’s being produced by CHUD fave Don Murphy and Susan Montford through their Angry Films banner. Matheson, who doesn’t seem to be slowing down after eight decades of living, has had several recent and upcoming films based off of his works, including I Am Legend, The Box and The Incredible Shrinking Man.
Meanwhile, Jackman is keeping busy as always, currently starring on Broadway with Daniel Craig in A Steady Rain, as well as having a million films upcoming or in development, including Unbound Captives, Drive and the inevitable X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2.