‘Die In A Gunfight’: Josh Hutcherson And Kaya Scodelario To Star In Modern ‘Romeo & Juliet’ Riff
“Wherefore art thou, bae?”
I wouldn’t be surprised to hear those words uttered in the upcoming movieDie in a Gunfight, a riff on William Shakespeare’s classic tragedyRomeo & Julietset in modern day that’s just cast a couple of stars from the biggest YA movie franchises around.Josh Hutcherson(The Hunger Games) andKaya Scodelario(The Maze Runner) will play the young star-crossed lovers in this updated take that also hasHelen Hunt(Twister) andOlivia Munn(X-Men: Apocalypse) on board in supporting roles. Get the latest details aboutDie in a Gunfightbelow.
The Hollywood Reporterhas the casting news, providing the newest update on a project that’s been kicking around Hollywood for nearly a decade. WritersAndrew BarrerandGabriel Ferrarisold the script immediately after graduating from NYU, and they later went on to co-writeAnt-ManandAnt-Man and the Wasp. (They were also part of theTransformerswriters' room and wrote aSabrina the Teenage Witchfilm that never saw the light of day.) Their script forDie in a Gunfightmade the Black List back in 2010, and the next yearZac Efron was attached to star in a movie version, but that ultimately fizzled. Now, six years later, the film has new life.
Here’s the synopsis (viaDeadline):
The film follows two star-crossed lovers – Ben (Hutcherson) and Mary (Scodelario), who share an eagerness to break from the confines of their lives that fuels their passion for each other and leads to an all-out struggle for their love against a backdrop of corporate espionage, revenge, and a long-standing feud between their families.
Collin Schiffli, who directed a film calledAnimalsthat won an award at the South By Southwest Film Festival, is the latest person attached to direct. Hutcherson, who played Peeta Mellark in theHunger Gamesmovies, will appear inThe Disaster ArtistandTragedy Girlslater this year. Scodelario, who played a science-loving adventurer in this year’sPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,recently wrappedproduction onThe Maze Runner: The Death Cure, the final film in that franchise which comes out next year.
Corporate espionage sounds like this movie’s way to differentiate itself from all of the otherRomeo & Julietadaptations, of which there have been many over the years:West Side Story,Tromeo & Juliet, Baz Luhrmann’sRomeo + Juliet, 2013’smore traditional adaptationstarring Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth, and tons more.
