Joe Carnahan Confirms DEATH WISH Remake. To Re-imagine The Book. There’s A Role For Frank Grillo

The late great Charles Bronson‘s 1974 classic film, DEATH WISH was actually based on a novel by Brian Garfield. You heard recently that director Joe Carnahan (The Grey, The A-Team, Narc, Smokin’ Aces) has been assigned the task to direct DEATH WISH remake. He tweeted to explain that it’s not going to be a straight up remake of Bronson’s movie. His new take would be a re-telling of the story in the book and it’s going to set in present L.A. He didn’t say who would play the lead character Paul Kersey but he did say that The Grey co-star, Frank Grillo, may have a role in the film..

Guys. I’m doing ‘Death Wish.’ But this version is a re-imagining of the book and set in present day Los Angeles. The L.A. of ‘Collateral.’

It’s on buses, cabs, metro trains. I want to show an unseen version of L.A. L.A. on foot. Prowling. Hunting. The vast emptiness of downtown.

The only role I’m writing in ‘Death Wish’ which will mark the ONE time I’ve ever written exclusively for an actor, will be for @FrankGrillo.

Guys, I said I was writing a role for@FrankGrillo. Nobody said anything about Frank playing the Kersey part. Relax folks. We have a plan.

Does this mean he’s going to put KILLING PABLO back on the shelf again? man, that one keeps getting pushed back every single time, I’m startin’ to think we’d never see KILLING PABLO movie get made at all.

The original DEATH WISH film was about a New York City architect named Paul Kersey who becomes a one-man vigilante squad after his wife is murdered by street punks. He goes out and randomly kills would-be muggers on the mean streets after dark. Basically he’s a guy who’s had enough, who’s had it up to here with his sh*thole of a society.
The film spawned four more sequels

Back in 2008, Sylvester Stallone wanted to reboot DEATH WISH but the project never took off.