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It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about Universal Pictures’ Scarface remake, but development appears to be continuing on the redo. THR reports that screenwriter Jonathan Herman, who wrote the upcoming NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton, has been hired to do a rewrite on the film’s script. Paul Attanasio (Donnie Brosco) and David Ayer (Training Day) wrote the previous drafts, so Herman is likely working from a solid foundation.

Our last solid update on the Scarface remake was last March, when Chilean director Pablo Larraín (No) signed on to take the helm. He’s still onboard the film, which shifts the location to Los Angeles and explores a Mexican immigrant’s rise in the criminal underworld. Brian De Palma’s 1983 Scarface, starring Al Pacino, was itself a remake of Howard Hawks’ 1932 original. Both movies have endured in their own way (despite the fact that De Palma’s isn’t really all that good), so there’s considerable interest in seeing what Universal’s take on the material brings to the table. I'm curious to see if this new remake will be as much of a tonal/character shift from De Palma's very 80s-influenced version as De Palma's film was from Hawks' original.

Herman is responsible for penning the draft of Straight Outta Compton that got the greenlight and has also worked on Universal’s The Birds remake, so it’s possible he’ll be the one to bring the project home and finally move it into the production stage. Whatever the case, today’s news is proof that the Scarface remake is still very much alive.

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Image via Universal Pictures