Chris Pratt’s wisecracking gunslinger Josh Farraday is locked and loaded in today’s all-new still for The Magnificent Seven, Antoine Fuqua’s star-studded remake that is poised to trot into theaters come September.
Hailing from Empire, the image sets the stage for some form of stand-off between Farraday and an off-screen frenemy. Whether that unseen trouble-starter is another member of Fuqua’s ragtag crew of bandits, or simply a conniving citizen of Rose Creek, is up for question at this stage, but there’s no question that Fuqua and his team are nailing the dusty, sun-kissed aesthetic.
Drawing inspiration from contemporary conflicts, the filmmaker is aiming to shake things up with his rendition of The Magnificent Seven, and not simply in the name of diversity quotas; rather, Fuqua tells Empire that “terrorism is alive. It takes a society to fight them now. It’s not like a group of white guys has to fight the bad guys. We’ve all got to fight together against one cause.”
Flanking Chris Pratt for Fuqua’s ensemble Western are Denzel Washington – reuniting with the director in the wake of The Equalizer – Ethan Hawke, a bearded Vincent D’Onofrio, Wagner Moura, Byung-Hun Lee and Luke Grimes. When Peter Sarsgaard’s marauding crook descends on Rose Creek, that “bunch of strays” will be forced to ward off a small army of bandits in order to protect the remote mining town and its helpless inhabitants. Haley Bennett, Matt Bomer, Billy Slaughter and Vinnie Jones round out the casting docket.
Antoine Fuqua’s is primed to assemble The Magnificent Seven in time for their theatrical bow on September 23.