Keanu Reeves has just been attached to star in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Justin Haythe, fresh off his Revolutionary Road success, will be writing the script. There are no details on the plot just yet, but it’s safe to say that it will involve a man with a very dark side.
I know, yawn yawn, Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella has had a billion adaptations before, and while this will be a modern retelling of the story (probably the only way to do it), what’s to keep our interest?
Well, Nicolas Winding Refn is in negotiations to direct.
That might have let about half of you say “Whoa” yourselves, while the other half are scratching your heads. Shame on you in the latter category. Refn is the genius behind the absolutely stunning Pusher trilogy, as well as the upcoming Bronson and Valhalla Rising. You’ll know his name soon.
It’s a bit strange to hear about this version since Universal had planned a version with Guillermo Del Toro, but there has been no news on it for quite a while. That one was supposed to be a fairly straightforward adaptation of the original story, so this modern take comes as a surprise. Del Toro’s version will apparently still be made but it’s going to be a while, since he’s obviously got The Hobbit and a few other films on his plate first.
It’d be interesting as hell to see what Refn can do with this story. The man has a eye for visuals like few others do, and it’s pretty much guaranteed that it would be a dark and disturbing story in his hands.