The idea of a “Spy Hunter” movie is a fun one once you consider that The Rock was going to be leading it. No, it never appeared to have a settled script. No, it never even got close to being in production. No, no other names were ever attached… but damn it… The Rock was in it and was talking it up for years. If nothing else, the project had that going for it. Well… not anymore. The Rock has finally left the Spy Hunter project.
Our friends over at FilmJunk give us this:
The Rock is no longer a part of the project. Either his contract expired, or he simply moved on to bigger and better things. Regardless, it’s probably a good thing for The Rock, but I have to wonder why they’d even continue moving forward with the film at this point. I was never sold on the concept to begin with; even though I used to love the game and a Spy Hunter movie would give you an excuse to showcase a cool tricked out sports car, I don’t know that there could ever be a decent story behind it no matter how many rewrites you do.
This project has been a fumbled mess… rewrites, losing directors… and now losing the lead guy who has been the only reason the project had any buzz whatsoever. All performers are replaceable… but this project has been hinging on The Rock being in it… and it seemed like the perfect fit. At the end of the day it was still going to be a video game movie… so what chance did it really have anyway?
I say, just drop the damn project. It hasn’t gotten anywhere, it’s been a mess… just put it to bed for a few years and maybe revisit it later.
Then anderson is an idiot, right?
His contract didn’t expire. John Woo left the project, and then Paul WS Anderson stepped onboard. Anderson said he didn’t want The Rock in it, so he got dropped.
Don’t drop it! The beauty of Spy Hunter is that the car is the star. Just about anybody could star in it…but if you want some buzz howabout Jason Statham?