Glen Powell is on fire right now, and it seems like every other day the in-demand actor is adding something new. Following the successes of Top Gun: Maverick, Anyone But You, and the upcoming releases of Hit Man and Twisters, Powell has landed gigs in a remake of The Running Man and JJ Abrams’ next project. And now he is adding a remake of classic Warren Beatty Oscar-winning film, Heaven Can Wait.
THR reports Powell will star in a reimagining of Heaven Can Wait, the 1978 body-switching comedy that Beatty co-wrote, directed, and starred in. The film earned a whopping nine Oscar nominations that year.
This new version will reportedly have a script by Oscar-winning writer Stephen Gaghan (Traffic). The Beatty story centered on a football player whose spirit is plucked to Heaven early by an overzealous Guardian Angel. To fix the mistake, his spirit is placed into the body of a recently-deceased millionaire, and hilarity ensues. Gaghan’s script will ditch the sports aspect, however, while leaving the rest intact.
The story has been adapted for the screen multiple times based on Harry Seagall’s original stageplay. The most recent was Chris Rock’s 2001 comedy Down to Earth.
A director still needs to be found, but with Powell and Gaghan already aboard, that shouldn’t be difficult at all.
