Doug Liman in early talks to direct Warner Bros.’ The Cannonball Run reboot

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

A reboot of THE CANNONBALL RUN has been in the works for quite a few years, but very little progress has been made. Etan Cohen (GET HARD) was attached to write and direct the project two years ago, but he later departed and Warner Bros. began talks with Rawson Thurber (WE'RE THE MILLER) to take over. According to Deadline, Warner Bros. couldn't reach a deal with Thurber and are they're now hearing that Doug Liman (CHAOS WALKING) may fill the driver's seat.

The original 1981 film featured an ensemble of 80's stars, including Burt Reynolds, Frank Sinatra, Dom Deluise, Roger Moore, Jackie Chan, Sammy Davis Jr., Farrah Fawcett, Peter Fonda, Dean Martin, Jamie Farr and more, as they took place in an illegal cross-country race where the participants were not above playing dirty tricks on one another. Warner Bros. isn't describing this project as a remake of the Burt Reynolds move, but rather a relaunch based on the famous "Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash." The real-life race was an unofficial, unsanctioned automobile race which ran five times in the 1970s. The race began in New York City, later Connecticut, and ended at the Portofino Inn in Redondo Beach, California. The driver(s) who made the race in the shortest time won. That was it. Talks with Doug Liman are still in the early stages, so don't pen the director in as a sure thing just yet. Thomas Lennon & Robert Ben Garant were brought in to pen the script when Warner Bros. was in talks with Rawson Thurber, and Deadline says that Liman will work off of their script with a new screenwriter to be announced at a later date.

Back when he was still involved, Rawson Thurber stated that THE CANNONBALL RUN reboot was aiming to blend the stunts of the FAST & FURIOUS franchise with the fun of OCEAN'S ELEVEN. "I think we’re living in a post or current Fast and Furious world. So I don’t think Cannonball can out-Fast and Furious the Fast and the Furious," Thurber said. "That’s its own thing, but we definitely want to harness that with the fun of Oceans 11 and put those together. It’ll have to be a different thing than Fast, but should have some great car action, obviously." Doug Liman's next film will be CHAOS WALKING, an adaptation of Patrick Ness' YA novels starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley. The sci-fi/action-thriller will hit theaters on March 1, 2019.