Author Gillian Flynn has been talking recently about the idea of potentially reteaming with the likes of director David Fincher and Ben Affleck for a sequel to Gone Girl - but while that project is likely years away, the trio is now getting set to work on a completely different project all together. New reports have surfaced attaching them to a brand new remake of the classic murder story Strangers on a Train.
This news comes to us courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, which says that David Fincher, Ben Affleck and Gillian Flynn are all now attached to the re-do of Alfred Hitchcock's 1951 classic - which in turn was adapted from the novel written by Patricia Highsmith. In the story, two men who have never met before randomly meet on a train and hatch a plan to commit the perfect murder by exchanging victims (thus eliminating motive for the crime). Unfortunately, this plan doesn't go too well when one of the killings is done and the other party begins to have second thoughts.
David Fincher's Strangers on a Train is expected to be a modern retelling of the story, and obviously the project is in need of another leading man, but apparently Ben Affleck's role has already been set. According to the trade report, he will be take on the part of Guy Haines, an amateur tennis star who would love to get his vulgar, horrible wife out of the way so that he can be with the daughter of a senator and launch his career in politics. The part was originally played by Farley Granger in Alfred Hitchcock's film, starring opposite Robert Walker's slightly more psychotic Bruno Anthony.
Anyone who has seen Gone Girl can likely immediately see how the trio of Fincher, Affleck and Flynn make a pretty fantastic match with the story of Strangers on a Train - as the two stories have some shared themes and tone - but part of me also wonders what the effectiveness of remaking this movie is at this point. In the years since Alfred Hitchcock's movie, similar stories have popped up all over pop culture, including the very-recent Horrible Bosses. Hopefully the creative team will be able to put enough of a spin on the plot to make it both stay true to Patricia Highsmith's original story while also delivering something new and unique.
The idea of a Strangers on a Train remake is certainly an interesting one, but part of me also wonders when it can possibly be made. David Fincher and Gillian Flynn are currently collaborating on the new HBO series Utopia, and Ben Affleck's card is as busy as its ever been - what with him being the new Batman and also working to further his career as a director. We can't say at this point when the new mystery film will actually get made, but you can be sure that we'll be following it all through development.
