I'm not someone who believes in coincidence. Never have. Especially when it comes to Hollywood where every single move is a calculated risk. Late last year Matt Reeves was looking to follow-up his acclaimed horror Let Me In with a big screen take on The Twilight Zone. Warner Bros. seemed bullish on the film, hiring Tony Peckham(Sherlock Holmes) to rewrite the script, and at one point courting a number of big name directors. Now it looks like they'll have to start that search again as Variety reports that Reeves has dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Really? Conflicting with what?
While Reeves has a number of big and small screen projects cooking right now, none of them have progressed enough where they'd force a move like this. So it has to be something pretty big, right? Well, remember last week when we learned that Rupert Wyatt may be stepping down from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes? Deadline has got their hands on 20th Century Fox's shortlist to replace him, and look who's at the top of it: Matt Reeves. Other names on the list include Juan Antonio Bayona(The Impossible), Juan Carlos Fresnadillo(28 Weeks Later), J Blakeson(The Disappearance of Alice Creed), Jeff Nichols(Take Shelter), with long shots Guillermo Del Toro and Scott Cooper(Crazy Heart).
After an initial script by Scott Z. Burns, the latest draft by original scribes Amanda Silver and Rick Joffa has been well-received, so the studio has to be looking to get the ball rolling pretty quickly. Fox prez Emma Watts will be meeting with each director personally to figure out the best choice, and she's got her work cut out for her because this is a great mix. Many of them have really strong horror credentials, which could work well if the goal is to have the action sequel be a bit scarier. On the other hand, guys like Cooper and Nichols are better at character driven dramas. Del Toro would go a long way in establishing the film's technical merits, and Reeves is pretty well-rounded over all.
Obviously, I think Reeves will end up with the job, but let's wait and see what happens.
