For the longest time, it looked like Warner Bros.’ long-gestating reboot of cult ’70s sci-fi Logan’s Run would fade into obscurity. After losing the likes of Ryan Gosling in the leading role, Bryan Singer and Drive helmer Nicolas Winding Refn also passed up the chance to direct. All may not be lost just yet, though, after The Hollywood Reporter brings word that Simon Kinberg has been recruited to steer the dormant project in the right direction.
According to the report, the Fantastic Four and Deadpool scribe will be joined by producer Joel Silver, as the studio looks to whip the nascent reboot into shape. With Kinberg on board to pen the story, it’s understood that Warner is still searching far and wide for a screenwriter, with rumors suggesting that an announcement for the role is imminent. Should this prove to be true, it indicates that WB is finally getting its ducks in a row regarding Logan’s Run, given that it’s been trying to bring a reboot to the silver screen since the turn of the millennium.
Alas, one can’t help but feel that the reboot has missed its window of opportunity. As one of the very first properties to blend a YA template with a post-apocalyptic setting, Logan’s Run has unknowingly inspired the likes of The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner and Divergent with its futuristic backdrop and totalitarian themes. Can Warner’s long-gestating reboot have the same impact as its 1976 original? Time will tell.
Fantastic Four is Simon Kinberg’s next project, which is due to his theaters at the beginning of next month. Looking further afield, the scribe is also serving as writer-producer on both X-Men: Apocalypse and one of Disney’s Star Wars Anthology films. As for Logan’s Run, it’ll be some time yet before we have a tangible product to critique, though there’s evidence to suggest that Warner’s vision is finally – finally – beginning to take shape.