Tom Cruise to star in Magnificent Seven remake?

MGM are thought to have their latest remake in their sights, with Variety reporting that Tom Cruise is set to star in a new version of The Magnificent Seven.

The film is the latest in a long line of remakes currently in the works at the studio, with versions of Carrie, Poltergeist and RoboCop all at various stages in the production process.

Cruise himself is also on a remake tip at present, with this latest news coming hot on the heels of the announcement that he will star in Universal’s forthcoming Van Helsing remake. Cruise has apparently been a long-standing fan of The Magnificent Seven, although he’s thought to be waiting for the film to be greenlit before officially signing on.

The original film (itself a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai) tells the story of a group of gunslingers hired by a village of Mexican peasants to run off a marauding gang of banditos. Yul Brynner, Charles Bronson and Steve McQueen headed up the all-star cast.

No word as yet on release dates or further casting, but MGM will look to get this one off the ground as soon as possible so as to secure a spot in Cruise’s busy schedule. Time to start assembling those fantasy ensembles…