Quick: who are the six biggest movie stars you can think of, not including Tom Cruise? Start compiling your list, because MGM is developing a remake of the 1960 classic Western The Magnificent Seven (which itself was a remake of the Japanese film Seven Samurai). Cruise is attached to star in the project, which focuses on a septet of gunslinging heroes who band together to defend a Mexican peasant village from malicious oppressors.
The original film featured cinematic greats like Steve McQueen, Yul Brynner, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, and more. All big names that became even bigger after this movie. So who would make up today’s unstoppable team?
There are plenty of names that come to mind when you think of big Hollywood heroes. If you want to take this route, your cast might look something like this: Will Smith, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis and Leonardo DiCaprio. You’re permitted to substitute Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, or Robert Downey, Jr., just so long as you don’t have three Departed stars or three Ocean’s Eleven stars in there at once. Them’s the rules.
There are also a few figures on the rise who might soon reach the stature of the aforementioned; actors who are worthy of consideration for projects like this. Accepting that established star Cruise will lead the pack, the “alternative team” has a wider variety. Michael Fassbender is one of the few “must haves.” Fassbender’s Inglourious Basterds costar Christoph Waltz deserves a spot, so long as he can try his hand at cowboy talk. And Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who has rapidly re-engaged the public with his thespian charms, wouldn’t do so bad under a ten-gallon hat. Next: Anthony Mackie, who might be one of Hollywood’s greatest secret weapons. Then there’s Philip Seymour Hoffman, who might not fit the build of a cowboy, but can play the attitude like nobody’s business. Finally, a twist: Jesse Eisenberg. I sincerely think that the world is waiting to see just how much he has up his sleeve beyond anxious nebbish. The boy’s got talent, and he’s my final pick.
Who makes up your ideal Magnificent Seven?
[Photo Credit: David Edwards/Daily Celeb]
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[Variety]
