(AllHipHop News) Antoine Fuqua has pulled out of directing the “Scarface” remake due to a scheduling clash.
The “Training Day” director came onboard the project last summer and was due to helm a modern-day reimagining of the gangster classic, which starred Al Pacino in 1983 and Paul Muni in the 1932 original.
However, he has now had to drop out of the project as it clashes with the sequel to his 2014 movie “The Equalizer,” which Sony studio executives reportedly want to be made as soon as possible.
They need Antoine to concentrate on finishing developing the script, which he has been working on for some time, according to Variety.com.
Sources told the website Antoine wanted to do “Scarface” and his team had been trying to figure out a way to do both, but Universal studios executives are already holding meetings to find a replacement so they can keep their production deadlines and shoot in the spring.
The most recent draft of the script has been written by “Boardwalk Empire” creator Terence Winter and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” actor Diego Luna is attached to star as a Mexican immigrant living in Los Angeles.
Antoine discussed the relevance of the plot in a chat with Fandago.com in September, when the election of Donald Trump for U.S. President was looming.
“I read the script they have and it’s actually really interesting and very timely,” he said. “The promise is that everyone gets a fair shot, but that’s not always the case. So that’s always relevant, and right now with what’s happening in Mexico, which is where the main character comes from – he comes out of Mexico – that’s relevant, especially when you’ve got people talking about putting up walls and other kinds of stuff.”
Pacino played a Cuban immigrant in Miami, Florida in the 1983 gangster classic, directed by Brian De Palma, while Muni played an Italian in Chicago, Illinois.
It was based on late crime writer Armitage Trail’s 1929 novel of the same name, which was inspired by real-life mob boss Al Capone.