With Ben Affleck coming off a Best Picture Oscar win for Argo and Shane Black making box-office records with Iron Man 3, the two are easily some of the most sought-after talents in Hollywood and today comes confirmation on what they’ll be directing next.
First up, Affleck already more or less said this was going to be his fourth effort earlier this year, but now final word has come in from Deadline that WB has greenlit an adaptation of Dennis Lehane‘s Live By Night for a fall start. Set in the Prohibition era, the film will see the director return to Boston, where he began his directing career with Lehane’s Gone Baby Gone. All we know so far is Affleck will be taking the lead role and one can read more details here.
As for Black, he’s returning to a project that he became attached to over three years ago. With some added clout thanks to his work with Marvel, he will be bringing back Doc Savage, the pulp fiction adventurer from 1930s and 40s serials. According to a press release, Black is set to write and direct the film adaptation for Sony, coming from a draft by Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry. For those unfamiliar, the character is trained since birth to be nearly superhuman in every way, using his skills and powers to fight evil all over the world. It sounds like it’s a great transistion from his previous film and one that will give him welcome freedom.
Are you looking forward to both of these upcoming projects?