Vin Diesel Pushing To Turn An Animated Classic Into A Live-Action Movie?
Apparently, Vin Diesel wants to make a live-action film of an animated classic. There's a reason he might be leaning towards this film
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Vin Diesel is setting up to have another blockbuster on his hands when the latest in his Fast & Furious franchise releases domestically later this month. But that doesn’t mean the guy isn’t thinking about the future, and potentially getting other high-profile projects to get off the ground. One of those might be a live-action adaptation of a critically well-received flick that struggled mightily at the box office. Insider Daniel Richtman has it that Diesel wants to do a remake of The Iron Giant in some fashion.
The details are light on what Vin Diesel sees in terms of a potential live-action remake of The Iron Giant. There are a number of ways something like that could go. Originally based on the book of the same name, The Iron Giant tells the tale of a massive alien robot with immense heart and also immense powers. The robot, the Iron Giant, befriends a young boy near where he crash-lands and the two work to evade the government and military. It’s a Cold War tale, though really could be adapted for almost any timeline based on the plot points.
And the reason Vin Diesel might have an affinity for getting a live-action version of The Iron Giant off the ground is that he had a role in the original, voicing the Iron Giant in that movie. While not a massively heavy lift in that department, Diesel does have plenty of experience in this realm as well and might just want to rock the same role but in a possibly bigger production when it was all said and done. Putting this kind of movie into a live-action format would likely require a massive budget.
Additionally, Vin Diesel might see the original The Iron Giant as something of a missed opportunity. It was actually one of Diesel’s first roles, after he had done Saving Private Ryan but before he really entered the discussion as anything like an action star. Though it was director Brad Bird’s first directorial work, the movie completely bombed at the box office earning just $31 million on its reported $50 million budget. But critics loved it and it’s sitting at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and 85 on Metacritic.
As for Vin Diesel, whether he gets The Iron Giant remade remains to be seen. It’s not like the guy isn’t incredibly busy these days with other major franchises. F9 is set to release in the United States on June 25th with the prospect of turning out a huge number in ticket sales. Internationally, it’s already eclipsed the $200 million budget with $269 million in box office revenue. And that number is, of course, set to climb a lot higher when it hits U.S. theaters.
Plus, Vin Diesel is set to have a role in Avatar 2 when that film finally hits the big screen, will reprise his role of Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and will make a return to his role of Riddick with the announcement of Furya. So the future is bright for the star who just churns out blockbusters. Maybe he can put The Iron Giant on the list as well.
