Scarface Remake Dead, Will It Get Revived?

By Britta DeVore | Published

Luca Guadagnino’s Scarface movie has met the same fate as the film’s main character, Tony Montana, as it’s been shot down. According to an interview with The Hindu, the Call Me by Your Name helmer will no longer be directing the revamped film which was first announced in 2020. In a flat statement, Guadagnino said, “I’m not working on Scarface anymore.”

Luca Guadagnino Is No Longer Directing Scarface

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The news will come as a devastating blow to fans of the celebrated director’s previous work who were excited to see what he would do with the classic film previously led by Al Pacino. The new Scarface adaptation sounded like an absolute hit when it was first announced with Fargo and The Big Lebowski directors, Ethan and Joel Coen, attached to pen the script. With Guadagnino departing the project, it’s still to be announced if the Coen Brothers have also taken their leave of the writers’ room.

The Director Wanted To Put His Own Spin On The Remake

Perhaps giving some insight into why he decided to turn his back on the Scarface remake, Guadagnino told the outlet that, when it comes to any sort of adaptation, he wants to ensure that it “goes beyond the form of the original work.”

Essentially, the filmmaker doesn’t want to adapt something just for the sake of it but wants to “tell that story from a completely different perspective” and make it his own. While he would stay true to the source material, it’s important for Guadagnino to put his own spin on any sort of reboot or adaptation. 

Antoine Fuqua, David Ayer And More Have Shown Interest In Directing

When he was originally signed on to helm the Scarface remake, Guadagnino was filled with excitement and promise for what he could do to the story of the cocaine-sniffing gangster in the modern day. Having previously backed the reboot of Suspiria and adapted André Aciman’s Call Me by Your Name, Guadagnino knows a thing or two about molding something fresh from an already told story.

Not the filmmaker to have his name thrown in the hat for a Scarface retelling, other directors including Antoine Fuqua, David Ayer, David Yates, and Pablo Larrán have also been interested in the IP.

The Remake Would Move Tony From Miami To Los Angeles

As for what Guadagnino’s Scarface would have looked like, it would have transported the mobster Tony Montana from Florida to Los Angeles. The filmmaker previously teased that the new production would fast-forward four decades to a modern world, adding that the character was “a symptom of the American dream” and that was the story he wanted to tell. Beyond that, not much is known about how the storyline for the revamped film would’ve gone. 

4 Decades Later, Scarface Remains One Of The Most Recognized Mobster Movies

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For those who may be unfamiliar with one of the most notorious pieces of mobster cinema, the original Scarface was helmed by Brian De Palma (Carrie, The Untouchables) in 1983. Along with Al Pacino in the leading role as Tony Montana, the film also starred Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, and Mark Margolis. The film centered on Montana, a Cuban immigrant who set up his cocaine business in Miami, Florida. As violent as he was business-savvy, the gangster’s world is flipped upside down by the local law enforcement and Colombian drug cartels. 


As of right now, no further information regarding Guadagnino’s replacement or the future of a Scarface reboot has been revealed.