The Wachkowskis have at least two intriguing projects on their plate right now. They’re producing Cloud Atlas, which is attracting high profile cast members, and they’re still trying to finance the mysterious CN-19.
CN-19 may be better known as Cobalt Neutral 9, the intriguing tale of archaeologists piecing together the Iraq War from grainy footage. In this footage, they discover a plot to assassinate George W. Bush, and the affair of two gay soldiers. How this will all blend together with Jesse Ventura and Ariana Huffington is anyone’s guess. But it’s certainly unique and daring, which is probably why no one is lining up to finance it.
That makes this story from The Hollywood Reporter a rather loaded one. According to THR, the Wachowskis and Warner Bros are teaming up for Hood, “a modern, urban take on the Robin Hood myth.” They will be writing and directing the film, and are already reaching out to stars. Rumor has it Will Smith is one they have approached.
How do the Wachowskis go from CN-19 to one of the blandest concepts imaginable? Hood is a story any director could do in their sleep. This is freshman stuff. Considering the tepid reaction to Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, I’m not sure audiences are clamoring for more. I can already foresee a year of preproduction where everyone bitches that we didn’t need another Robin Hood, and then when the film is released, complains it isn’t “their” Robin Hood.
But I suspect this could be a “one for them, one for us” deal. Perhaps the Wachowskis are making the most marketable and milquetoast film possible so that Warner Bros will finance and distribute CN-19. As studios go, they are willing to gamble a bit more on edgy genre stories, especially if their directors have made them a little pile of change. Maybe the Wachowskis are banking on more than one Robin Hood story here.