According to some internet sleuthing on my behalf, fans of director Renny Harlin's CLIFFHANGER starring Sylvester Stallone have been hanging in for news about a long-gestating reboot of the action-adventure thriller for upward of nineteen years. The wait has been an arduous one indeed, kind of like waiting for Tool to announce the release date of their upcoming album – which by the way lands on August 30th.
Today Deadline has exclusively shared that twenty six years after the original climbed its way into theaters, Neil Mortiz's female-led reboot of CLIFFHANGER will be heading to Cannes Marché where the project will be available for purchase. While that might not sound like much of an update, it's worth noting that the feature has already harnessed Ana Lily Amirpour (THE BAD BATCH, A LITTLE SUICIDE) as its director, with AQUAMAN's Jason Momoa in talks to make a "key cameo" in the film.
The sale of Mortiz's CLIFFHANGER pitch is coming to Cannes Marché after Rocket Science rappled the rights for the project away from StudioCanal, who'd tried to reboot the premise on more than on occassion with Mortiz at the heart of the deal. Moritz and Toby Jaffe will produce under their Original Film flag alongside Thorsten Schumacher and partner Lars Sylvest for Rocket Science. Meanwhile, CREED II scribe Sascha Penn is expected to submit a first draft of the script within the coming weeks. Of course, the plan will be to relaunch CLIFFHANGER for franchise potential, hopefully paving the way for another pulse-pounding action vehicle alongside the Fast & Furious universe.
In Harlin's 1993 original film, a botched mid-air heist results in suitcases full of cash being searched for by various groups throughout the Rocky Mountains. Enter Gabe Walker (Sylvester Stallone), a brooding mountain rescuer who climbs into the deadly sights of the nefarious group. From that point on you've got plenty of grunts, nail-biting close calls, flops of sweat, and harrowing escapes to make for one hell of an action landscape. Seeing as how much mountain climbing equipment has changed throughout the years, an updated version of CLIFFHANGER could lead to some real over-the-top moments, not to mention an impressive display of physical acting on the cast's behalf. My body is ready.