Damon, Costner & Freeman To Join THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN Remake?
Last month I brought you news that Tom Cruise was attached to star in a MGM’s remake of the classic western The Magnificent Seven. Now there appears to be evidence that the Mission: Impossible star will be joined by Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman and western aficionado Kevin Costner – news (which if true) is sure to get film fans talking.
The Sun, one of Britain’s biggest selling (and notoriously unreliable) newspapers is reporting that “MGM are throwing big money at the film and wanted some top names to fill the main parts.” The tabloid states that Cruise will be replacing Yul Brynner as Chris Larabee Adams in the remake, while Matt Damon will be taking on the role of Vin Tanner, the character originally played by Steve McQueen. Apparently Kevin Costner will be slipping into James Coburn’s duds for the role of Britt, while Morgan Freeman will take over Eli Wallach’s part of Calvera.
It’s exciting news, but is it true?
Well, like I said above, The Sun is notorious for printing inaccurate (read: made-up) entertainment stories, and the basis for this one is an unnamed “source.” So, on the surface it would appear that this is another piece of creative journalism. However, when you break down the component parts of the story then you see that there just might be a kernel of truth in there, lurking somewhere.
We know that Cruise is interested in the film and wants to make a western. So, that part is accurate. Next, Matt Damon starred in True Grit, a western that was successful at the box office – so it makes sense that MGM might want to connect with a star that has had success in such a risky genre. Also, Damon and Cruise almost worked together on Minority Report (Colin Farrell ultimately got Damon’s role), so it would seem like they may want to share the screen together. So, Damon’s casting appears to hold some water.
Kevin Costner is also a name long associated with westerns, and he’s just coming off the massive success of the mini-series Hatfields and McCoys (not to mention Dances With Wolves or Open Range), so it would seem like he is a likely choice to legitimise such a remake. Costner also worked with Morgan Freeman on Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and it is just possible that the duo may also want to work together again. Freeman also starred in Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-winning Unforgiven, so he is no stranger to the western genre and he is also quite prone to popping up in films with ensemble casts like RED and the Batman films. So, again, this appears to be very plausible casting.
To be fair, someone could have used similar logic to create such a story, or it could be fragments of truth mixed together. If it is true, then The Magnificent Seven might just become a remake that gets movie fans excited – think Ocean’s Eleven in chaps.
Source: The Sun via Screen Rant
