It was announced earlier this year that Steven Spielberg was developing a new movie based on Bullit, the classic action thriller movie starring Steve McQueen, and it appears that the director has found his leading man. Deadline has reported that Bradley Cooper has just closed a deal to play Frank Bullitt.
Based on Mute Witness by Robert L. Fish, the original film starred Steve McQueen as a no-nonsense San Francisco cop who becomes determined to track down the underworld kingpin who killed the witness in his protection. Steven Spielberg will direct the new Bullitt movie as well as produce it, with Josh Singer writing the script. However, this new project will not be a remake of the 1968 film but will tell an original story with the Frank Bullitt character at its center. Steve McQueen’s children, Chad and Molly McQueen, will executive produce the Bullitt project, as will Bradley Cooper.
Deadline’s report states that Bradley Cooper and Steven Spielberg actually started talking about Bullitt during the pandemic. The pair have been wanting to work together for years after several attempts fell through. Spielberg was once slated to direct Cooper in American Sniper, which ended up being helmed by Clint Eastwood. Spielberg also once considered taking the helm of Maestro, the upcoming Leonard Bernstein biopic starring Cooper and was actually the one who suggested that Cooper direct the film himself. Maestro is set to hit Netflix sometime next year. As for Spielberg, his next movie, The Fabelmans, will open wide in theaters on November 23rd. You can check out a review of The Fabelmans from our own Chris Bumbray right here.