Considering how selective Harrison Ford is these days, it’s a shame that the movies he’s been in recently haven’t been more successful. Last year’s Morning Glory, though only an average film overall, probably provided him with one of his best performances over the past decade. His latest film, Jon Favreau‘s blockbuster Cowboys & Aliens, is set to hit theaters on July 29, and we may get a sense of how people will react to it after its impending debut at Comic-Con.
It’s the latest project Ford has signed on to, though, that may have the most potential of them all. He is now set to star as Wyatt Earp in an adaptation of Max Allan Collins‘ novel Black Hats. (Note: It’s one of two novels that Collins has published under the pseudonym Patrick Culhane.) [The Hollywood Reporter]
The 1920s-set novel looks like it could be the foundation for some pretty juicy material, as the storyline will eventually lead Ford‘s Earp to investigate the gang of Al Capone. Collins is no newcomer to the gangster genre, by the way — he wrote the graphic novel Road to Perdition, which became the basis for Sam Mendes‘ stunning Tom Hanks-starrer of the same name.
Kurt Johnstad (300, The Last Photograph) will handle the screenwriting duties, while Basil Iwanyk and Jason Netter have attached themselves to the project as producers. No word yet on who will direct, or who may take on the Capone role, but we’ll certainly keep you in the loop on this project, which seems to carry a lot of promise.
What do you think of Ford’s casting as Earp? Who would you like to see play Capone?