Transformers: Rise of the Beastsis shaping up to be one of the most anticipated films of 2023, and it looks like two of the producers on the action packed adventure,Lorenzo Di BonaventuraandMark Vahradian, have found their next project.Deadlinereports that the two are working on a biopic about legendary illusionistHarry Houdini. The screenplay for the project will be written byNeil WeidenerandGavin James,who are no strangers to working with Paramount, as they were just hired to writeJerry Bruckheimer’sBeybladeproject.
The plot of the film is still under wraps, but the story will be set at the height of Houdini’s fame in the early twentieth century, with a certain “Sherlock Holmes” tone to the story, according to Deadline. The film looks to focus on the almost “superhuman” personality that Houdini carried with him throughout all his iconic performances. Houdini was best known as a master escape artist, and escaped everything from simple handcuffs to his infamous act of escaping a straight jacket while being hung upside down in a case of water. He even barely escaped being buried alive and almost suffered a breakdown because of the near-death experience.
This is not the first film to feature Houdini’s larger than life escapades. The illusionist has been portrayed in past film adaptations byTony Curtis,Paul Michael Glaser,Harvey Keitel,Adrien Brody,Michael Weston,andMichael Dreyer. The last film to feature Houdini was 2007sDeath Defying Acts,which starredGuy PearceandCatherine Zeta-Jones. What appears to make this upcoming film different from other features starring the character is that this does not seem to be a straight-up biopic. This may be a story that uses Houdini’s vast intelligence and celebrity status at the time to help the police solve a murder or something along those lines. Houdini’s name was even seen as his superhero persona, as his real name was Erik Weisz. The film could also tap into Houdini’s skills as a pilot, as he even became the first person to fly a powered aircraft in Australia.
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Di Bonaventura and Vahradian are currently in post-production on the previously mentionedTransformers: Rise of the Beasts,which was directed bySteven Caple Jr.. The pair is also working on the nextPet Sematarymovie, theGerard Butleraction movieThe Plane, and Di Bonaventura is also producingThe Meg 2: The Trench,which is currently filming in the UK. The producing pair have a lot of experience in the action genre, so it will be interesting to see if that will be implemented in this curiously described Houdini project. There is no release date or casting for the film yet as it is still in very early development, but for all the latest news on this new Houdini production, stick with Collider.
