Nicolas Winding Refn To Direct Ryan Gosling In 'Logan's Run' Remake

Just yesterday producer Joel Silver told MTV that the remake of Logan's Run, which has cycled through a couple directors in the past two years (like Bryan Singer and Carl Erik Rinsch), was still alive and could happen 'soon.' We sat on that quote because, well, "it is still happening" just isn't a huge update.

But this is a big update: Nicolas Winding Refn is now set to direct Ryan Gosling in a new Logan's Run. Scratch that — it's not a big update — it's a pretty massive one, and a massive upgrade as well. Suddenly this might be a movie to really look forward to.

Deadline has the news, noting that this is the first serious studio tentpole for both guys. It will be based on the script Alex Garland turned in last year, though I wouldn't be surprised if a little work was done before the film shoots later this year.

We'd heard that Mr. Refn was interested in a big studio film. He talked about wanting Wonder Woman, and it probably is no coincidence that he ended up with Logan's Run, as Joel Silver was long the producer on Wonder Woman. The director and actor just finished the mid-budget action film Drive, and while that's a bigger picture than anything Mr. Refn has made before, it is hardly a tentpole. The new company FilmDistrict will distribute Drive later this year.

I hadn't been wildly enthusiastic about the Logan's Run remake prior to this. Another big-budget remake of a dated sci-fi film? Seems like they're a dime a dozen lately. The original, cheesy and overlong but fun, is ripe for a remake (hate to lose those dated sets and costumes) but could so easily lead to something that is just studio product. With these two on board, I expect something more than product.

Deadline says that this version will keep the basic idea of the story — Ryan Gosling plays a Sandman, charged with tracking down people who don't submit to his society's mandated date of death at 30 before eventually going on the run himself. (In the novel, the death date was 21, but the age was changed for the first film version, and will likely remain at 30 for this one. 30 is the new 21, anyway.)

Beyond that, I don't know what to expect. But Nicolas Refn has rarely let me down; I consider him to be one of the most interesting directors working now. It was inevitable that he'd make the big studio jump, so I'm eager to see what results.