Award-winning director Steven Spielberg is said to direct a new original story on Frank Bullitt, the character played by Steve McQueen in the 1968 movie Bullitt. As per the Deadline report, no script has been finalized with a deal also not agreed upon yet.
Sources suggest that this is not a remake but an original story about the character. The 1968 movie was directed by Peter Yates. It was about Steve McQueen’s (a San-Francisco cop) search for the underworld kingpin that killed the witness in his protection.
Bullitt has received both critical acclaim as well as box-office success. It made an impressive US$ 42.3 million at the box office back in 1968 on the back of a budget of around US$ 4 million. The movie won an Academy Award for Best Film Editing and was nominated for 5 BAFTA Awards as well. It featured McQueen in an iconic car chase, in a green Ford Mustang, with most stunts involving driving performed by McQueen himself.
Steven Spielberg’s next movie, The Fablemans, is all set to release in November 2022. It is loosely based on Spielberg’s own childhood growing up in Arizona. He is also nominated for the Best Director at the Oscars for his first ever musical – West Side Story. With this, he became the first person to be nominated for the Best Director Oscar in 6 different decades with a total of 8 nominations in this category alone. He has won twice – Schindler’s List in 1993 and Saving Private Ryan in 1998.
On the Bullitt movie, the report further adds that Spielberg is expected to produce the movie along with Kristie Macosko Krieger (West Side Story, Bridge of Spies, Lincoln), with Josh Singer (Spotlight) being the screenwriter. McQueen’s children, Chad and Molly McQueen, are said to be executive producing after a lengthy negotiation process to secure the rights to the character.
Steven Spielberg bringing an iconic 60’s character to life is bound to be exciting for fans. It will be interesting to see who is cast as Frank Bullitt with Steve McQueen having made the character his own with his brilliant performance.
Bullitt (1968) is available to stream on YouTube and Apple Tv+ on a pay-per-view basis.