Wired’s two-part story unearthing the murky details behind Ross Ulbricht’s illegal online marketplace “The Silk Road” will hit the big screen, with two of Hollywood’s most highly praised filmmakers at the helm.
Titled Dark Web, the Fox-made movie will enlist the help of the Coen brothers (Fargo, The Big Lebowski, No Country for Old Men, True Grit, and more) to write the film’s screenplay. Engadget reports that it’s not clear whether or not the brothers will also direct the movie.
While it’s too early for casting rumors, release date, or even plot details, the film will likely cover Ulbricht’s rise as founder of the online drug-trafficking marketplace “The Silk Road,” and eventually as a murderous kingpin as the site’s popularity grew.
As the Wired piece reports Ulbricht was charged with drug trafficking, computer hacking, money laundering, and even putting a hit out on several people, according to Slash Gear.
“It also covers the federal agent participating in the investigation that was discovered to be stealing some $800,000 in Bitcoins from the marketplace and selling information, eventually getting cause and going to prison himself,” Slash Gear wrote.
With the award-winning film Fargo under their belt, the Coen brothers are certainly not new to crime thrillers. While some of their best known titles are in comedy, the brothers have shown a mastery of fast-paced drama films with True Grit, No Country for Old Men, and Bridge of Spies.
The Hollywood Reporter noted that best-selling author Dennis Lehane had taken the first crack at the screenplay, so it’s not immediately clear whether the Coen brothers are inheriting a passed-down screenplay for revisions and changes, or if they’ll be rewriting from scratch.
Nonetheless, the film will add to the list of tech/hacker movies released in the past two years, including Blackhat and Snowden, but will surely aspire to perform better at the box office.
