Paramount Begins Development On ‘Face/Off’ Reboot

Reboots are always plagued with high expectations; so much so when their predecessors have gone on to become classics in their genre. And here comes Face/Off taking a hit on those expectations as Paramount begins development on its reboot.

According to Deadline, Paramount Pictures has tasked Oren Uziel to pen the script. Uziel has previously worked on scripts for The Cloverfield Paradox, 22 Jump Street, and the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie. Neal Mortiz, who was also part of 2012’s Total Recall reboot and has been the Fast and Furious franchise’s long-time producer, will be joining executive producer David Permut to produce.

Putting New Faces to Face/Off

Years after its release in 1997, director John Woo’s action hit still makes your brain spin. The film stars Nicholas Cage and John Travolta as homicidal sociopath and terrorist Castor Troy and FBI Agent Sean Archer respectively. As the film goes, after Troy kills Archer’s son in a failed assassination attempt, Archer finds himself obsessed with catching Troy. But just as Archer pins him down, Troy reveals that he has planted a bomb in the city that is set to go off in a few days before he falls into an irreversible coma.

To find the bomb, Archer undergoes facial transplant surgery and takes on Troy’s face. As he sets out to convince Troy’s accomplices to reveal the location of the bomb, Troy wakes up from his coma. Upon discovering that his face is missing, he proceeds to take on Archer’s face and kill the surgeons that did the transplant. Then, he goes on to wreak havoc on Archer’s personal life. As the two men get deeper within each other’s circles, the film becomes a full-blown action-packed ride.

Face/Off grossed over $245 million worldwide towards the end of its run, becoming one of the highest-grossing movies of 1997. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound Effects Editing where it ultimately lost to Titanic. 

Currently, there are no further details as to which direction Paramount is taking the reboot. It remains unclear whether the reboot will take off with on a completely different tone as its predecessor or remain in the same continuity. There’s also the question of who will be up to direct the reboot. As of now, Face/Off’s original director Woo is lined up to direct a remake of his hit film The Killer starring Lupita Nyong’o, so, he might not be off the books.

Wherever the film goes, hopes are high that it wouldn’t become the next one to fall under reboots that never really mattered.