It’s been a rather quiet last few days for movie news, but I’m about to end the week with a banger. It concerns David Fincher, who is coming off last year’s “The Killer.”
Jeff Sneider had already reported on Fincher “quietly working” on a ‘Squid Game’ remake for Netflix, but that won’t be his next film for them. Rather, he’s going to be directing a Hitchcockian crime-thriller called “Strangers.”
Yes, this is the remake of Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train” that was greenlit in 2015. It was put on hold in 2017, but I’m hearing that it’s back on and will be Fincher’s next film. Originally, the script had Fincher switching the ‘train’ setting for a plane, but it looks like he’s going to back to Hitchcock’s original idea.
The film centers around two men who meet on a train ride and come up with a murder plot. One of the men takes the plan as a harmless joke, while the other is very serious about it.
Ben Affleck was originally set to star in Fincher’s remake. I’m told he is still “loosely involved” in the project which has been picking up steam in recent weeks. No further casting has been revealed, and there is no date for the start of production, but, judging on everything I’m hearing, we might learn more about this one in the coming months.
I’m also told that, with the aforementioned ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Strangers,’ Fincher’s “Chinatown” prequel series, which he is writing but not directing, could potentially start production in early 2025.
Fincher, who has had a few multi-year deals with Netflix, recently extended his contract with the streamer for another three years, until 2027. Fincher has been all about Netflix for close to ten years now, delving into the streaming game full-on, creating shows such as “House of Cards,” “Mindhunter“ “Love, Death + Robots” — not to mention two films, “Mank” and “The Killer.”
Fincher’s non-Netflix credits include “Se7en,” “Zodiac,” “the Social Network,” “Fight Club” and “Gone Girl.”