Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Return To Film Could Be Kim Ji-Woon’s ‘The Last Stand’
While rumorshave been circulating for monthsabout awhole slew of projectsthatArnold Schwarzeneggerwas considering for hisreturn to live action film, /Film has exclusively learned that The Governator has almost locked a deal to star in Lionsgate’sThe Last Stand,Kim Ji-Woon’sEnglish language directorial debutwritten by first-time screenwriterAndrewKnauer. The film is about a lone border sheriff tasked with stopping an escaped drug dealer from crossing into Mexico in a super car. Liam Neeson was previously cast in the part butleft the film a few months back. Read more after the jump.
Movieweb first reportedthis news, citing “a Polish distributor who is helping finance” the film, but we confirmed it with a source closer to the production. The deal has yet to been signed, but apparently that could happen at any time. Lionsgate is currently waiting on Schwarzenegger’s camp at CAA to make a counter offer but that most of the major points have supposedly been ironed out.
While promotingI Saw The Devil, Kimdescribed his thoughtson the film as follows:
My concept forThe Last Standis that it’s kind of a combination ofDie HardandHigh Noonwhere (the latter) was about protecting something very important that needs to be protected, whileDie Hardis a very drawn-out, long process that almost kills someone in the process, so my film will be something that has to be very well protected and in the process, we almost die protecting it in a way. So ifI Saw the Devilwas about a person’s extreme remorse about having lost something that they couldn’t protect,The Last Standwould be where someone puts their lives on the line to protect something that’s very important and it will be a bit more optimistic film in that regard.
And though everyone loves Liam Neeson, with him starring inThe Last Stand, it’s almost a throwaway action film likeTakenorUnknown. With Schwarzenegger in the lead, though? It becomes an immediate blockbuster for Lionsgate. Kim Ji-Woon excites film fans but Arnold excites everyone. Do you think this is the right choice for Arnold?
