Exclusive: The Fugitive Remake Back In The Works, Cate Blanchett And Mahershala Ali In Talks
We've exclusively learned that The Fugitive remake is moving forward. Right now, they're in talks with top actors for the lead roles. Here's what's happening.
This article is more than 2 years old
Hollywood saw a lot of hiccups in their process in 2020. Many of the movies announced in 2019 now stand in question. Are the studios still moving forward on them after everything came to a halt during pandemic lockdowns in 2020? One such movie is back in the game again. The Fugitive remake last had a real update from Deadline in 2019, when a director, writer, and producer were chosen. Curious about what was up with that project, we did some research. Now, thanks to one of our trusted and proven sources, we have learned that The Fugitive remake is, in fact, still happening. Not only that, but they’re in talks with both Cate Blanchett and Mahershala Ali for the lead roles.
We’ve exclusively learned that in The Fugitive remake, Mahershala Ali is in talks to take on the role of Dr. Kimble. We know from the first film that he’s the main character of the original thriller. Cate Blanchett is in talks to play the role of the US Marshall tracking him down. While both of these actors are fairly different from those who played their parts in the original film, that may be a great thing. From what we learned, it sounds like they plan to stay fairly true to the original story for The Fugitive remake. Mahershala Ali and Cate Blanchett are well-respected and awarded actosr. It seems like they’d be good choices to take a very similar story and then turn it into something brand new.
The original movie released in 1993 and starred Harrison Ford as Dr. Kimble, a man falsely accused of killing his wife. In The Fugitive remake, this would be the part for Mahershala Ali, if negotiations work out and he signs on for the project. Not a lot of actors will want to take on a role where the bar was set by someone as infamous as Harrison Ford, but it seems like something Mahershala Ali would be ready to take on.
Tommy Lee Jones played a marshall hunting Kimble down in the original movie. This is the role Cate Blanchett is in talks for in The Fugitive remake. It’s easy to picture her as a US Marshall, wearing a suit, and with perfect authority, directing a nationwide manhunt. That seems like a natural role for her to take on.
In the original story for The Fugitive, Harrison Ford’s character manages to escape custody when his bus crashes. He then has a specific goal: find the one-armed murderer of his wife. He has to do this while also avoiding the nationwide manhunt searching him out. Mahershala Ali has done calm, calculated, and intelligent before. He seems like a great choice for the main character in The Fugitive remake.
The plot for the original movie sounds like what we see in a lot of thrillers today. There’s a guy falsely accused of murder, on the run, and not only needs to clear his name but find the true killer of his wife. It’s a story that thriller fans know well and like a lot. What made The Fugitive special was both the time it was released when its story wasn’t as familiar as it is for today’s audiences, and the execution of all involved. The 1993 film earned seven Oscar nominations and was a box office hit. It’s often considered one of the best thrillers of the 1990s, so a remake was a natural decision. To make The Fugitive remake successful today, they’ll need to evoke the same emotions the original did, and they’ll need to have top-notch execution. Going after respected Oscar winners like Cate Blanchett and Mahershala Ali makes it sound like the team behind The Fugitive remake are looking to recapture that Oscar level of success.
