Triple Frontier remains mired in development hell. Mark Boal’s script, which focuses on the notorious border zone between Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil where drug traffickers reign, was originally supposed to be directed by Kathryn Bigelow and had courted such names as Tom Hanks and Will Smith. Eventually, Bigelow dropped off the project and J.C. Chandor (A Most Violent Year) stepped in with Tom Hardy, Channing Tatum, and Mahershala Ali coming on board.

The project was gearing up to shoot in about a month, but now it’s all fallen apart losing Hardy, Tatum, and Paramount. According to Empire, “Chandor had re-written the script in a way that the main duo didn't particularly love, and despite requests for more changes, they've decided to leave. And that led Paramount, which has been going through a leadership transition, to drop the plan to make the movie.”

That’s a rough day for any production, and it leaves a major question mark about what happens next for the film. Chandor is still attached to direct and presumably he’ll be sticking with his script, but now the question becomes whether or not it can recruit A-list talent and if another studio will be interested. While Chandor’s had some success, he’s still not a name that can sell a movie, so it really comes down to the lead actors.  It looks like Ali is still attached to the project, so at least there's that.  It doesn't hurt to have a recent Oscar-winner starring in your film.

It will be interesting to see if Chandor can get some new actors interested or if he’ll eventually leave the project as well. As for Hardy and Tatum, they’re staying plenty busy. Hardy will be seen later this year in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk and Tatum will star alongside Taron Egerton in Matthew Vaughn’s sequel Kingsman: The Golden Cirlce.