Deadline is reporting that director Guy Ritchie is set to helm Treasure Island for Warner Bros. The studio is very pleased with Ritchie as he’s brought them over $1 billion worldwide with his Sherlock Holmes films and now they want up to bring his unique vision to another classic tale, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.
The project has been in development for a while, with Paul Greengrass attached at one point. Alex Harakis is writing the script and though we’re not sure what direction Ritchie will take the story in, his Sherlock Holmes films can gives us a pretty good idea of what we should expect to see.
Though not confirmed, word is that the film will be developed as a franchise and as for when Ritchie will start on Treasure Island, that’s still up in the air. He has his RocknRolla sequel in development and of course, I’m sure Sherlock Holmes 3 is somewhere on the horizon. Plus, he’s also attached to The Man From U.N.C.L.E., so he currently has a lot going on.
Personally, I’m excited to see what Ritchie can do with Treasure Island. That being said, I would rather see him return to his roots with something more gritty, something like Snatch or Long, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, which are still two of his best works.
That being said, it’s understandable that he’d want to move away from the indie scene and into the studio/blockbuster world, he’s quite talented after all.
Nevertheless, Treasure Island is a classic story and I look forward to seeing Ritchie bring his vision to it.