Matt Damon is reuniting with his Ford v Ferrari director James Mangold for an adaptation of bestselling novel The Force. Mangold started developing the film back in 2017 (shortly after the release of Logan) and at one point The Force was supposed to come out in 2019. Obviously, that didn’t transpire, as Mangold - pardon the pun - shifted gears to Ford v Ferrari, which was a move that ended up paying off. The true story sports drama grossed an impressive $216.3 million worldwide and earned numerous accolades during awards season, including a Best Picture nomination at the 2020 Oscars. Ford v Ferrari’s odds of winning the Academy’s top prize are very slim, but the nod speaks to how many people enjoyed the movie.
Fresh off one of the most acclaimed works of his career, Mangold is busy figuring out what project to pursue next. Earlier this month, he signed on to helm a Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, exploring the iconic musician’s shift to the electric guitar. That definitely sounds promising, but Mangold also has his eyes back on The Force, and he’s enlisting one of his Ford v Ferrari leading men to come along for the ride.
According to Deadline, Damon is now onboard to star in The Force as NYPD detective Denny Malone, who finds himself embroiled in a “corruption scandal” and is forced to make difficult decisions to protect himself. Mangold remains attached as director and is also co-writing the script alongside Logan scribe Scott Frank.
Clearly, Mangold’s been interested in making The Force for quite some time, and it’s easy to see why. As a hard-hitting, compelling character drama (its story was described as “The Godfather with cops” by none other than Stephen King), this material should be right up the director’s alley. And in Denny Malone, Damon should have a meaty role to explore - one that sounds very different from Ford v Ferrari’s Carroll Shelby. Working with Mangold on the sports drama gave Damon a much-needed hit following a recent string of disappointments, so he’s definitely hoping for similar results on The Force. Damon won an Oscar for writing Good Will Hunting, but he’s yet to earn one for acting (despite three nominations). Perhaps The Force could be the vehicle that gets him over the hump.
As for when The Force will see the light of day, that remains to be seen. Damon is about to star in Ridley Scott’s drama The Last Duel, which is scheduled for release this Christmas. So, he likely won’t be able to move on to The Force until Last Duel is wrapped up. That might explain why Mangold is simultaneously putting together the Bob Dylan biopic, giving him something to work on while he waits for Damon’s schedule to clear up. Fingers crossed this time The Force is actually made and gives its principal players another smashing success.
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Source: Deadline
