Antoine Fuqua’s upcoming remake of The Magnificent Seven is looking like it could be one of those rare projects that wins over fans of the original while turning new audiences on to the source material, and the latest trailer for the film certainly doesn’t suggest otherwise.
Sony Pictures and MGM released another preview of The Magnificent Seven this week along with a new poster for the film (see below), which reunites Fuqua with actor Denzel Washington for the third time and reimagines the acclaimed 1960 western with an ensemble cast of modern-day stars. The roles those stars will play in the film get a bit more attention in the new trailer, with Washington’s character identified as “The Bounty Hunter,” Chris Pratt’s character as “The Gambler,” and so on through all seven of the title characters.
After collaborating on The Equalizer and Training Day (the latter of which earned Washington an Academy Award), Fuqua and Washington team up this time around to tell the story of a group of misfit mercenaries who are recruited to defend a town from a ruthless band of outlaws. Ethan Hawke, who also earned an Oscar nomination for Training Day, co-stars with Washington in the film.
Much like director John Sturges’ 1960 original — which was itself based on legendary director Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 film Seven Samurai — The Magnificent Seven features an all-star cast of familiar faces portraying both the ragtag group of gunslingers and the villains tormenting the town.
Along with Washington, Pratt, and Hawke, the film also stars Vincent D’Onofrio (Daredevil), Byung-Hun Lee (G.I. Joe: Retaliation), Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (Cake), and Martin Sensmeier (Lilin’s Brood) as the seven mercenaries hired to protect the town. Peter Sarsgaard (Jarhead) portrays the cruel industrialist Bartholomew Bogue, and the cast also includes Haley Bennett (The Equalizer), Matt Bomer (White Collar), Vinnie Jones (X-Men: The Last Stand), and Cam Gigandet (Pandorum) in supporting roles.
True Detective screenwriter Nic Pizzolatto penned the script for the film with The Equalizer screenwriter Richard Wenk and The Blind Side screenwriter John Lee Hancock.
The Magnificent Seven hits standard and IMAX theaters September 23.
