David Rosenthal’s ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ Remake Will Star Michael Ealy
Jacob’s Ladderrecently turned 25 years old.Adrian Lyne’s (Unfaithful) thriller didn’t perform spectacularly at the box office, but like some of the director’s other films, it’s aged considerably well. Back in2013, we heard about aJacob’s Ladderremake, which is finally moving forward withMichael Ealy(Almost Human) in the lead role.
Learn more about the project below.
A few years ago this remake was described as “something more akin to an homage.” ProducersMichael GaetaandAlison Rosenzweig(who were behind theFright Night remake) hiredJeff Buhler(Midnight Meat Train) to write the film, based on a previous draft byJake Wade Wall(of theWhen a Stranger Callsremake).Varietyreports LD Entertainment’s remake of the psychological thriller is moving forward, with Buhler sharing credit withSarah Thorp(The Bounty Hunter) on the script.Varietycalls the remake a “reboot,” which will be a “modern-day paranoid action thriller about two brothers.”
Obviously, that’s quite different from the original film’s synopsis, as Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) didn’t have a brother and Lyne’s picture was hardly an action movie. In the thriller, written byBruce Joel Rubinand Lyne, Robbins starred in the titular role, playing a Vietnam veteran suffering from hallucinations. Sequences from the original, including the nightmarish party sequence, remain terrifying.
When the remake was announced, no director or star was attached, but the project will now be a bit of reunion: directorDavid Rosenthalwill collaborate with his star fromThe Perfect Guy, Michael Ealy. Critics panned that film last year, but it made close to $60 million at the box office. Rosenthal also directedA Single Shot, a nice and dirty crime movie, starring Sam Rockwell and Jeffrey Wright. That’s a well acted, atmospheric thriller, so I wouldn’t completely write this project off because ofThe Perfect Guy.
The idea behind the remake is to “contemporize the story with new situations and characters but still maintain a story that examines issues and poses existential questions.” Considering they’re taking this story in a more action-driven direction, which isn’t terribly surprising, we probably shouldn’t expect another emotional, often unsettling version ofJacob’s Ladder. We already have that movie, so that’s completely fine, but hopefully Rosenthal doesn’t lose sight of the seriousness, the dramatic weight, or the emotional ending of Jacob’s journey amongst whatever set pieces they have planned for this action-thriller.
Principal photography on Rosenthal’sJacob’s Ladderremake is scheduled to begin this May.
