Matt Damon To Mount ‘The Great Wall’ In China?
Matt Damon has had an interesting and varied career. With his body of work is filled with Oscar bait films like Good Will Hunting and Invictus, comedy films such as Dogma and Stuck On You, and action flicks like The Bourne Identity and The Departed. Matt Damon has had his fingers in virtually every pot imaginable when it comes to acting. This week is a big one for Damon, for not only do we get news of his return as the fan favorite film hero Jason Bourne, but we also get news of something that has a bit more international appeal.
According to an exclusive report from Deadline, Matt Damon is in talks to join Chinese director Zhang Yimou (Hero, House Of Flying Daggers) in the Chinese epic The Great Wall, which is a film that “reveals the mystery behind why the Great Wall was built, and the secrets hidden beneath its stones.” The film was originally supposed to shoot last year with Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai) directing, and Henry Cavill (Man Of Steel) and Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) leading, but plans for that fell through. With Yimou at the helm and Matt Damon at the lead, hopefully the film can finally get off the ground for Legendary Pictures.
The film has had an interesting and varied past, with its origins beginning with Max Brooks, author of the book World War Z. Since its inception, the script has gone through Edward Zwick’s hands, as well as Carlo Bernard and Doug Miro’s (Prince Of Persia). The latest draft of the script comes from the desk of Tony Gilroy, writer of the Bourne movies. With all this in mind, let’s hope Matt Damon is switching his status from “in talks” to “confirmed” in The Great Wall.
Regardless of what happens with The Great Wall, that isn’t all Matt Damon has going for him over the next couple years. He will also be headed into space for Ridley Scott’s next science fiction film The Martian, which is based on the self-published 2012 book by Andy Weir of the same name (It was re-published this year by Crown Publishing Group), according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Described as being in the vein of Robert Zemeckis’ ‘Cast Away’ and Ron Howard’s ‘Apollo 13<' (both of which starred Tom Hanks), 'Martian' centers on an astronaut who is stranded on a Martian colony and struggles to survive. Back on Earth, NASA tries to mount a rescue mission."
That’s a thriller, historical (?), and science fiction film all in one fell swoop for Damon.
With all these different types of films crowding Matt Damon’s plate, there’s no doubt the man will have an interesting couple of years.
