Stephen Gaghan isn’t exactly a household name, but he’s a creative type whose work you’re likely familiar with. Not only does he have a hefty screenwriting résumé that includes titles like Rules of Engagement and Traffic, but he was also the writer/director of the George Clooney vehicle, Syriana. Why is this all important? Because The Wrap has news about what his next project is going to be, and it sounds pretty interesting.
The film, which is being produced through Lionsgate, is called Candy Shop, and it’s said to be something of a crime thriller. The story’s protagonist is a deep cover operative dedicated to fighting an evil global organization who ends up losing everything and having to give up the life. Retirement doesn’t prove to come too easy though, because soon after he disappears into Brooklyn to live out the rest of his days as a fairly anonymous beat cop, he finds that the exact same organization he was dedicated to bringing down is operating right in his new neighborhood. If that doesn’t sound exciting enough, get a load of the actors that Gaghan is already courting to join his cast…
Apparently an offer has already gone out to Brad Pitt to play the main character, Mark Swain. In addition to that, the director has offered the role of Black Zenga to Pitt’s Inglorious Basterds co-star Christoph Waltz. Now, there’s no confirmation that Black Zenga is actually the villain of the piece, but seeing as the guy’s name is “Black,” I think we can go ahead and infer, and in our inferring start to daydream about how cool it would be to see these two guys match wits in some sort of crazy spy thriller.
Of course, these are just the initial offers, and nothing is yet set in stone. As a matter of fact, should Pitt not be interested, or not be able to become involved for scheduling reasons, Gaghan reportedly has a list of names he’s ready to turn to next. You know, the usual guys, guys like Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Bradley Cooper, and Christian Bale. When you’re making a spy movie it’s important to think big.