If the past is any indication, then probably not. That said, Gore Verbinski (the Pirates franchise, the upcoming Rango) has signed with Fox to direct the remake of the 1947 Danny Kaye-led The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, about a writer who imagines himself as the hero of many different tales throughout his every-day.[The Playlist]
Ironically, this premise doesn’t sound much different from that of Rango, which concerns a chameleon with an identity crisis (very clever).
This is precious property in Hollywood. The kind of property so precious it never can get made. The title character was set to played by nearly every big comedy star from the 80s up til now, from Jim Carrey to Owen Wilson to, most recently, Sacha Baron Cohen. Cohen may still be in the mix, but one would imagine with a new director will come new casting meetings and so on.
And maybe that’s a good thing. Verbinski’s just right for this material (recall James Gandolfini’s identity-struggling gay hitman from The Mexican or the entire character arc of Jack Sparrow), but he’ll need the right actor to work with to create a Walter Mitty that’ll fit with today’s audiences. Anything worth doing takes time, after all. Walter Mitty should know that by now.
Is Verbinski the right choice for this? Is this property even worth all the hassle?