There may be big things in the future yet for Charlie Hunnam as a leading man, but it's taking a while to get there. His last three films, Deadfall, Pacific Rim, and Crimson Peak were all met with their share of problems and negative reactions, And things don't promise to get any easier with the latest project he's agreed to as he'll be called on to replace the legendary Steve McQueen in a remake of Papillon.
Deadline says that "conversations" are happening now to have Hunnam star in a redo of the 1973 prison break film that co-starred Dustin Hoffman. Damn, talk about a tough duo to live up to! Co-written by Dalton Trumbo, the 1930s-set film follows a man unjustly convicted of a murder in France and sentenced to prison in South Africa. Aided by a counterfeiter trading resources for protection, the man plots his escape.
While there's absolutely nobody calling for this film to be remade, there's good news in that Aaron Guzikowski (Prisoners) wrote the script and Michael Noer (R) will direct. A fall start date is planned assuming everything falls into place. Hunnam, who looked a lot like McQueen in the few Sons of Anarchy episodes I saw, is a good place to start. Next up for him is James Gray's promising The Lost City of Z, and then next year is Guy Ritchie's forever-developing Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur.
