John Henry "Doc" Holliday has been portrayed many times on screens big and small by actors including Caesar Romero, Kirk Douglas, Adam West, Jason Robards, Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer and Dennis Quaid. Looking to add his name to the list is Jeremy Renner, who is attached to play the Old West figure in a new film.
PalmStar Media, led by Kevin Frakes, has picked up the rights to Mary Doria Russell's two novels about the man, Doc and Epitaph: A Novel Of The O.K. Corral. The plan appears to be to combine them to find a fresh take on the man who went from being a dentist to a professional gambler and his friendship with Wyatt Earp, which led Holliday standing with him during the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
"We are excited to re-introduce this classic American character to a whole new audience by chronicling Doc Holliday’s incredible transformation from average Joe dentist to a man who Wyatt Earp called the ‘nerviest, speediest, deadliest man with a six-gun he ever knew,'" Renner and producing partner Don Handfield say in a statement carried by Screen International. They'll work on developing a script for the new movie and locking in a filmmaker.
Renner, who was last seen in Arrival, has a role in drama Wind River, which is scheduled to arrive in the UK on 8 September. He'll also be back as Hawkeye in Avengers: Infinity War, due on 27 April next year and has signed to star alongside Ed Helms in new comedy Tag.