Well, those hoping Shrapnel would be the long awaited reunion of Face/Off stars Nic Cage and John Travolta will have to hope for something else crazy to pop up in the future, because it ain't happenin' now. Back in March it was reported the duo would re-team for Shrapnel, which was set to be directed by 1980s directing icon, John McTiernan(Predator), and sounds like a film tailor made for all three. Written by Evan Daugherty(Snow White and the Huntsman), the story follows two Bosnian War vets, an American(Cage) and a Serb(Travolta), who square off in a deadly game of cat and mouse in the Rockies.
Now it's looking like something totally different. First off, Cage is no longer involved, having dropped out over the summer(something I missed). He's been replaced by Robert De Niro of all people, playing the American soldier. De Niro showed there's still some spring in those old legs in the otherwise terrible Killer Elite, but there's no way he can match Cage's....eccentricity. Let's put it that way.
Also those hoping this would be a return to form for McTiernan are going to be sorely disappointed, as he's been replaced by Mark Steven Johnson. I know I'm in the minority in saying I liked Johnson's Daredevil flick a few years ago, but there's no denying his career is basically dreck, with stuff like Simon Birch, When in Rome, and Ghost Rider on his resume.
Lastly, and this isn't that big of a deal, the film is now titled Killing Season. Why the name change was made isn't clear, but it's a title that will definitely stand out. It may have something to do with Hilary Swank recently optioning a comic book with the same name, but who can really say?
The premise still sounds pretty cool, but the two reasons I was diggin' it are now off the table. We'll have to wait and see how this pans out when production kicks off next January. [Deadline]
