This is turning out to be a busy time for Russell Crowe. Not only can he be seen right now in True History of the Kelly Gang, it was just a couple of days ago we learned his upcoming thriller, Unhinged, would be the first movie to hit theaters this summer. And now we’re learning that Crowe has signed on to star in a remake of Jacques Audiard’s French crime classic, A Prophet.
Variety reports Crowe will star in American Son, which is a remake of Audiard’s film which starred Niels Arestrup and Tahar Rahim in his breakout role. The story follows an Algerian prison inmate who is recruited into a lethal crime syndicate and rises in the ranks, all before turning on the mobster who mentored him.
Interestingly, the updated version will be directed by Rapman, the rapper-turned-filmmaker who is currently earning raves for Blue Story, a film we loved quite a bit here, too. If you’ve seen hit, you know Rapman’s sensibilities are perfect for A Prophet. However, he says to expect something different from his take on the material…
“It’s very, very different. You will relate to it very differently. I’m making it very modern. I’m making the story just as powerful, but we’re talking about different ethnic races. It’s going well so far. We’ve been casting and location scouting, and done all of that. We’re nearly there with it and we’re about to hopefully close a deal with our lead actor. If we get who we’re trying to get, it’s gonna be really special. I see why everybody loves A Prophet, and I think they’re gonna love American Son just as much. The journey that we’re gonna go down, even though it is really similar to A Prophet, it’s also very unique and very standalone compared to the original. That’s all I can really say. I can’t wait to start filming it.”
