Usually found directing films he himself generates, the man behind Sightseers, Kill List and A Field In England is now considering a remake. Ben Wheatley is in talks for a new version of The Wages Of Fear.
The original 1953 effort, from Henri-Georges Clouzot, adapted Georges Arnaud’s novel about a group of desperate men hired to transport a shipment of highly explosive nitroglycerin across the jungle. So influential was it, that no less a filmmaker than William Friedkin has already produced his own 1977 version, which saw Roy Scheider starring in Sorcerer.
It’s an unexpected move from Wheatley, who we hadn’t thought of as someone who would want to try a new take on an established classic, but if you’re worried that this means he’ll reduce his output of original premises, you clearly don’t know his work ethic. If he does make a deal to tackle this one, expect him to find something great and fresh to do with it, alongside wife and regular co-writer/producer Amy Jump.
Wheatley’s latest two films, the Tom Hiddleston-starring High Rise and big-budget action thriller Free Fire, are still both awaiting UK release dates, but we’d expect to know when they’ll be with us soon.