Paul Feig in Early Talks to Direct Italian Job Sequel

Paramount Pictures is developing a follow-up to its 2003 heist hit The Italian Job, with filmmaker Paul Feig in early talks to direct, according to a report first published by Deadline and since confirmed by other outlets. The project is in very early stages of development, and the studio has begun searching for a screenwriter to put together a script. No deal has been signed with Feig, whose attachment could still fall through. The new film would be a sequel to the 2003 movie directed by F. Gary Gray, not a remake of the 1969 British original that starred Michael Caine. The 2003 film featured Mark Wahlberg as master thief Charlie Croker, alongside Charlize Theron, Jason Statham, Edward Norton and Donald Sutherland, and centered on a revenge mission involving a cache of gold and a memorable chase sequence in Mini Coopers. Released on May 30, 2003, the film grossed about 176 million dollars worldwide on a budget of 60 million, making it Paramount's highest-grossing release of that year. Talk of a sequel has circulated for more than two decades.