Back in May, it was reported that MGM was planning a remake of the classic western 'The Magnificent Seven.' The new version would star Tom Cruise. The 1960 original film followed a group of gunmen hired by a small village to protect against marauding outlaws. Actually, using the term original in regard to 'The Magnificent Seven' may be a bit of a stretch; itself a remake of Akira Kurosawa's 'Seven Samurai.' Though it seemed certain this remake was happening, a start date was unclear as the project had neither a writer nor a director. Now it appears MGM has hired relative screenwriting rookie Nic Pizzolatto to pen the script. Pizzolatto wrote a couple episodes of AMC's 'The Killing' and has a new series, 'True Detectives' in the works at HBO.

It seems appropriate that a development is made on another MGM remake the day the trailer drops for their reboot of 'Red Dawn.' I said this back in May, but I'll reiterate, MGM is a remake factory these days. 'Red Dawn,' 'Robocop,' 'Carrie,' 'War Games,' 'Death Wish;' it's like they're the new Platinum Dunes. I still don't really know how to feel about this project. I like westerns, I love the 1960 'Magnificent Seven,' but it's already a remake. A remake of a remake seems like a recipe for disaster to me. I'm not really phased by the screenwriter's inexperience in this regard, because there is so much preexisting material for him to work with that I don't see this being a difficult gig. Cruise being in it is fine, but given the impressive might of the "original's" cast (Yul Brynner, Robert Vaughn, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, and Charles Bronson), a lot of the strength of this remake is going to hinge on the rest of the casting process. This could very well end up being 'The Expendables' of neo-western legends. Can we get Eastwood? Please tell me we can.

What do you guys think? Is anyone interested in this remake? Who would you cast alongside Cruise?

Source: Variety