Harry Potter's Director David Yates In Talks For Universal's "Scarface" Reboot

Deadline reports that Universal Studios is planning to release an updated version of Scarface that will borrow elements from both the original 1932 Paul Muni gangster movie and the 1983 film starring Al Pacino. According to Deadline, "Universal has been through a couple of drafts and now is very high on the current draft. The first stop is the director. This is before any conversations on talent or timing." 

The film has been in development for years with a number of different directors and screenwriters coming and going, but the source confirms that the studio is in final talks with British director David Yates who directed the final four films in the "Harry Potter" film series (#s 5, 6, 7, and 8 from 2007-2011).

The new Scarface will not be a sequel or a direct remake, but will instead use the same basic premise of both films: "An outsider, an immigrant, barges his way into the criminal establishment in pursuit of a twisted version of the American dream, becoming a kingpin through a campaign of ruthlessness and violent ambition." What is being kept secret for now is where exactly the "immigrant" will be from in this third film, after the first two films featured gangsters named Tony who were Italian (1932) and Cuban (1983). 

Martin Bregman, who produced the 1983 version, is on board, and the studio is currently meeting with writers to discuss what, exactly, today's "twisted version of the American dream" looks like. Obviously, it's too soon to say whether or not this is a good idea (probably not), though it might be worth it just for the potential soundtrack.

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