Be Kind Rewind and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director Michel Gondry is set to direct Seth Rogen's version of The Green Hornet. Gondry was handed the job after wowing production president Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach with his particular vision of the film.
Rogen is set to star in the film as superhero Britt Reid, who is a newspaper publisher by day and a crime fighter by night. Earlier this year, Stephen Chow (Kung-Fu Hustle) was in talks to direct the film, but will now only play the part of Kato - the Hornet's sidekick. That particular role was once played by Bruce Lee.
The Green Hornet started as a radio show in the 1930s, but became arguably more popular during its TV adaptation in the 1960's.
The film, set for release in June 2010, is co-written by Rogen and frequent collaborator Evan Goldberg. The two are also listed as executive producers.
The project has seen many faces and directors. In 1997, George Clooney was locked down to play the role by Universal until Steven Spielberg got him a job in The Peacemaker. It is uncertain whether Clooney playing the Hornet would have out-awfuled his participation in Batman and Robin.
As pointed out wisely by Variety, this will easily be Gondry's most commercial film yet - if not of his entire career. That being said, there is no word yet as to whether Seth Rogen's costume will be made out of cardboard.
Source: Variety