I have a sneaking suspicion that every actor wants to be in a western, but box office results prove that audiences don’t want to see all those westerns. Sure, slinging on a holster and leaning against a fence looks cool, as one of the promotional photos for The Magnificent Seven proves, but without some sort of twist, people are not buying tickets. True Grit (2010) and Django Unchained are perhaps the only pure westerns to crack $100 million at the U.S. box office since 2000, and those were led by some of the most respected and well-known directors of our time.
So where does that leave expectations for the reimagining of 1960’s The Magnificent Seven, itself a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai? Well, everyone seems to be shrugging their shoulders at that question, but people do seem pretty delighted about Denzel Washington leading the septuplet.
The diverse cast is about the only thing sparking much conversation, besides the usual grumblings about unnecessary remakes. In addition to Washington, the seven gunmen will consist of Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-Hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and Martin Sensmeier, who make for a noticeably varied group when in their hero lineup. As the trailer makes deadly apparent, this film will have a modern feel, with that cast and director Antoine Fuqua’s stylish action not bending to fit the genre. Perhaps this will be enough to sell tickets, and perhaps it will be enough to inject some energy into a well-trod premise.
The Magnificent Seven is directed by Antoine Fuqua and stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, and Haley Bennett. It will be released in the U.S. and the U.K. on September 23rd, 2016. For international release dates, click here.
Do you think this version will stand on its own or get crushed by its legendary predecessors? Let us know in the comments!
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