Josh Brolin Is Your New Oldboy

Chan-wook Park 's 2003 Korean revenge opus Oldboy has been running laps around Hollywood for a few years now, with multiple actors and directors rotating in and out of the potential American remake.  We flirted with Nic Cage under the direction of Justin Lin, then Speilberg set his sights on Will Smith to star.  Now the stars have realigned once more, and we're left with looks to be a far more appetizing  team of talent:  Spike Lee will direct the ever-badass Josh Brolin as a man who's inexplicably imprisoned for 15 years and then just as inexplicably released to take revenge against his captors.

Oldboy is one of the most jaw-droppingly insane movies I have ever seen, due mainly to the inventive direction and the haunting performance from the film's star Min-sik Choi, so don't underestimate the value of Lee and Brolin as a team.  The next major question/hurdle will be the script by Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend, Thor), as there's no word yet as to whether this new version will contain the same batshit crazy twist ending as Park's original film.  (I'll be astounded if it does.  While I trust Spike and, to a certain degree, Protosevich, I just don't see a major studio getting on board with that kind of insanity.)

If you haven't yet seen Park's hammer-wielding original, do yourself a favor and check it out.  It's amazing, and not for the feint of heart.