The American remake of the popular 2011 French drama The Intouchables has received an early 2018 release date. The original movie follows a quadriplegic man named Philippe (François Cluzet) who forms an unlikely friendship with his caretaker, Driss (Omar Sy), who is recently out of prison. Directed by the duo of Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano, The Intouchables became a box office success in France and went on to win a number of accolades.

The Intouchables is one of the few foreign films in the last decade to gain a decent amount of notoriety in the United States, as it firmly has a place in the IMDB Top 250. It also earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language film and is the second highest-grossing film of all-time in France.

Via distributor The Weinstein Company, The Intouchables remake is slated for a release on March 9th of next year. That puts the film in direct competition with Selma director Ava Duvernay's A Wrinkle in Time adaptation from Disney as well as the Charlize Theron and Joel Edgerton action comedy Gringo, plus two weeks after Pacific Rim: Uprising and a month after Black Panther.

Retitled Untouchable, the film will star Kevin Hart as Dell, an unemployed man with a criminal record who takes a job to take care of a wealthy paraplegic man. Bryan Cranston plays Phillip, who lost his ability to walk after a tragic hang gliding accident. The film will chronicle the relationship between Dell and Phillip as they form an unlikely bond and friendship, pushing each other to live their lives to the fullest again.

Nicole Kidman and Julianne Marguiles also co-star in the film, which is directed by Neil Burger (Limitless, Divergent) and written by Jon Hartmere and Bridesmaids' director Paul Feig. Jason Blumenthal, producer of hits like The Pursuit of Happyness and The Equalizer, works with six other producers including Harvey Weinstein. The film shot for two months in Philadelphia from January to March of this year.

American remakes of foreign language films are no new enterprise, as well-regarded films like the Oscar-winning The Departed, horror films The Ring and Let Me In, and Christopher Nolan drama Insomnia were all based on foreign movies. The Intouchables is a heartwarming, well-made movies that doesn't necessarily need to be remade, but the combination of Hart and Cranston in a dramedy is certainly intriguing. Keep checking Screen Rant for more information on Untouchable, including trailer release dates and other promotional materials.

Next: Jack Nicholson to Star in Toni Erdmann Remake

Untouchable hits U.S. theaters March 9, 2018.

Source: The Weinstein Company