Adam Wingard, director of the upcoming monster showdown “Godzilla vs. Kong,” will helm the remake of the 1997 thriller “Face/Off” for Paramount.
Wingard will write the script with longtime collaborator Simon Barrett. The two have previously worked on the 2016 found footage horror film “Blair Witch,” the 2014 thriller “The Guest” and the 2010 horror “A Horrible Way to Die.”
The original “Face/Off,” an action thriller, was directed by John Woo and starred John Travolta and Nicolas Cage as an FBI special agent and a terrorist, respectively. The two arch enemies assume each other’s identity by, as the title suggests, switching faces. Travolta’s FBI agent Sean Archer tracks down Castor Troy (Cage), but Troy is severely injured in a plane crash. Archer then undergoes surgery to replace his face with Troy’s in order to go undercover as a criminal.
The original cast also included Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola, Gina Gershon, Dominque Swain, Nick Cassavetes, Harve Presnell, Colm Feore, John Carroll Lynch and more. The upcoming remake is expected to have a brand new cast.
“Face/Off” earned $245 million at the global box office and was the 11th highest-grossing film of 1997. It was also nominated for sound effects editing at the Academy Awards.
Neal Moritz will produce the remake for Paramount, and David Permut will executive produce.
Wingard’s “Godzilla vs. Kong” will release on HBO Max and in select theaters simultaneously on March 31, after being delayed several times due to the coronavirus pandemic. His directing credits include “Blair Witch,” “Death Note,” “Outcast,” “The Guest” and “You’re Next.”
Deadline first reported the news.
