It seems Russell Crowe loves being bad as a recent report has revealed that he has signed on to star in American Son, a remake of the gritty French crime film A Prophet.
Crowe’s Unhinged (a psychological thriller in which he stars as a relentless stalker) is set to be the first film to be distributed in theaters since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down cinemas worldwide, and he is set to take on the next role of a screen villain.
The Gladiator actor will play an infamous, ruthless mobster who puts a young man sent to prison under his wing, mentoring him into building a crime syndicate. In the end though, the young man unexpectedly turns on his mentor.
American Son is based on A Prophet (directed by Jacques Audiard. It revolved around a young Arab who ends up in a French prison and becomes the Kingpin of his own crime syndicate.
A Prophet won the 2009 Cannes Grand Prix and got an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.
American Son will be directed by Andrew Onwubolu (a.k.a. Rapman) and here is what he had to say about the upcoming movie:
It’s very very different. You will relate to it very differently. I’m making it very modern. I’m making the story just as powerful, but we’re talking about different ethnic races. It’s going well so far. We’ve been casting and location scouting and done all of that. We’re nearly there with it and we’re about to hopefully close a deal with our lead actor. If we get who we’re trying to get, it’s gonna be really special. I see why everybody loves A Prophet, and I think they’re gonna love American Son just as much. The journey that we’re gonna go down, even though it is really similar to A Prophet, it’s also very unique and very standalone compared to the original. That’s all I can really say. I can’t wait to start filming it.”
