Netflix is taking on yet another redux of a classic film, and this time they're taking on a French cinema classic The Wages of Fear, the film that launched filmmaker Henri-Georges Clouzot into international acclaim. No release date is yet set for the project, but it is set to be released sometime next year. The new film is set to be directed by French action director Julien Leclercq. The project is currently untitled.
The 1953 film The Wages of Fear tells the story of four men commissioned to haul nitroglycerin to a remote South American oil field. On the often treacherous roads, a rivalry begins to develop between the men, raising tensions in an already potentially explosive situation. The 1953 film was based on the 1950 novel called The Salary of Fear by author Georges Arnaud. The 1953 film is not the only currently existing adaptation of the book, however. The 1977 American film Sorcerer, directed by The French Connection director William Friedkin re-imagined the 1953 film. Sorcerer was initially met with mixed to negative reviews, perhaps unfairly owing to its frequent comparison to the original French film. However, it has since gained its own status as a classic film. And Friedkin is now one of the most well-renowned filmmakers in history.
Considering Sorcerer's initially negative reception based on comparisons to the 1953 classic, it certainly seems like Leclercq has a lot on his plate with his own upcoming adaptation. Of the project, he said, "[t]he ambition is huge." He also said of his collaboration with Netflix, "[t]o reunite this cast for the reboot of such a film, for a worldwide broadcast with Netflix, forces me to put all my heart and guts into it." Leclerq has previously worked on the Netflix crime series Ganglands. He will be working with his Ganglands co-writer Hamid Hlioua on the upcoming project. Actors Franck Gastambide, Alban Lenoir, Ana Girardot, and Sofiane Zermani have signed on to star in the new remake. Leclercq and Julien Madon will produce the film for Netflix through Labyrinthe Films and TF1 Studio.
Julien Leclercq has Big Shoes to Fill
This could be a big step in Leclercq's already impressive career in filmmaking, but it is also quite an ambitious project to take on, considering the original film's reputation. Clouzot won both Berlinale's Golden Bear award for the film along with the prestigious Palme d'Or. Way back in 2015, Ben Wheatley was set to do a remake of the film. However, the project did not come to fruition.
There is certainly a renaissance of remakes of classic films at the moment, from Netflix's 2020 adaptation of the timeless novel and Alfred Hitchcock film Rebecca to the upcoming Amazon adaptation of David Cronenberg's 1988 thriller Dead Ringers, streamers are eager to bring audiences new takes on familiar properties. No release date has yet been set for Leclercq's upcoming project. In the meantime, check out the trailer of another Netflix remake of a classic film, All Quiet on the Wester Front.