Is Ridley Scott's adaptation of Western novel Wraiths Of The Broken Land still happening? S. Craig Zahler is an author and screenwriter who made his directing debut in 2015 with Bone Tomahawk. For most of its runtime the movie is a slow burn Western fronted by a great cast, including Kurt Russell and Richard Jenkins. It then dives into pure horror in the last act, and the film became a word of mouth success.
His follow-up Brawl In Cell Block 99 cast Vince Vaughn against type as a criminal forced to fight his way into a hellish cell block to save his family and it received great reviews in 2019, though Zahler's most recent project received a more mixed reception. Dragged Across Concrete cast Vaughn and Mel Gibson as two cops attempting a heist on a brutal criminal gang, but its near three-hour runtime and somewhat languid pacing led to a less positive critical reaction.
Several of S. Craig Zahler's novels have been optioned for movie adaptations over the years, including Mean Business On North Ganson Street, which was set to reunite Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Foxx. That project no longer seems to be happening, but what about Wraiths Of The Broken Land?
Ridley Scott Signed To Direct Wraiths Of The Broken Land In 2016
Wraiths Of The Broken Land is a 2013 Western novel where a father sets out to rescue his kidnapped daughters from a Mexican brothel, with the aid of his sons and an assorted group of killers. The book was well-received for its fleshed-out characters but was also noted for its harsh violence, with few seeing how a movie version would be possible without major changes.
Ridley Scott looked set to rise to that challenge in 2016 when he signed on to direct a Wraiths Of The Broken Land movie. This was set to reunite him with The Martian screenwriter Drew Goddard.
S. Craig Zahler Has Heard Nothing About A Wraiths Of The Broken Land Movie
In a 2019 interview with HMV, S. Craig Zahler offered updates on the progress of both Mean Business On North Ganson Street and Wraiths Of The Broken Land. The former, according to the writer, is just sitting around at Warner Bros while the latter appears to be stalled. Zahler also heard Goddard's screenplay wasn't totally faithful to his novel.
Wraiths Of The Broken Land Doesn't Seem To Be Happening
If Ridley Scott is known for one thing it's a hefty workload, with upcoming projects including The Last Duel, possible graphic novel adaptation Queen & Country and maybe even Gladiator 2. Wraiths Of The Broken Land doesn't appear to on the helmer's to-do list for at least the next few years and given the sheer darkness of the material, it's hard to see a major studio making it a current priority either. It could still happen of course, but progress on the movie has gone cold.