Sylvester Stallone to Direct and Star in Death Wish Remake

Sylvester Stallone as a mild-mannered architecture name Paul Kersey, who, after witnessing a brutal act against his loved ones, takes up arms to kill bad guys on the streets of New York? Maybe. That’s the word from Variety, who reports that MGM and Stallone are currently in talks to have Stallone star and direct the remake of the 1974 movie “Death Wish” that originally starred Charles Bronson and spawned 50 sequels. Or was that fifteen? I lost count after the first five. If the deal goes through and Stallone signs on the dotted line, he’ll be working from a screenplay by Michael Ferris and John Brancato, whose credits include “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” and the upcoming “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins”.

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“We are looking at our library to determine which potential franchise properties make the most sense for us to produce, and ‘Death Wish’ was clearly one of that jumped out,” said MGM chief operating officer Rick Sands. “We hope to get a deal done with Sylvester Stallone to direct and star, and like the ‘Rocky’ and ‘Rambo’ films, we see this as another potential franchise for him.”

Remember just a few years ago, before the last Rocky sequel, when Stallone couldn’t get arrested in Hollywood? Then he fought for his right to do the sequel to Rocky and it proved to be a success, and now geeks are going nuts over his upcoming Rambo sequel.

Goes to show you what a little self-determination and success will do for your career in Tinseltown.