5 Minutes
Ryan Reynolds, Amazon MGM Team Up for a Classic Remake
Ryan Reynolds is set to lead and produce a remake of the 1974 action-comedy Thunderbolt and Lightfoot in partnership with Amazon MGM. The project reunites several familiar players from Reynolds’ recent screen life: his production company Maximum Effort is attached, and the actor will co-write the script alongside Enzo Mileti and Scott Wilson, writers who contributed to Fargo’s acclaimed fourth season.
The creative lineup and what it signals
Shane Reid, the editor who worked with Reynolds on Deadpool and Wolverine, will make his directorial debut on this one — moving from cutting room to director’s chair. That internal progression mirrors a larger trend in Hollywood where trusted collaborators evolve into new creative roles, often shepherding established franchises or remakes with a shared tonal shorthand.
Mileti and Wilson bring crime-genre credentials from shows like FX’s Snowfall and the drama The Kingdom, which suggests the new Thunderbolt and Lightfoot could sharpen its crime-thriller edges while keeping the original’s darkly comic heart. Amazon MGM’s involvement points to strong streaming distribution possibilities and a willingness to invest in star-driven cinema that can live both in theaters and on platforms.
What was the original film about?
Michael Cimino’s Thunderbolt & Lightfoot introduced audiences to a grizzled bank robber (Clint Eastwood) posing as a fugitive priest and a scrappy petty thief named Lightfoot (Jeff Bridges). The two form an uneasy partnership to infiltrate a criminal crew that believes its former leader betrayed them. The film launched Cimino’s directing career — he would later win acclaim and awards for The Deer Hunter — and earned Jeff Bridges an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Why remake it now?
Remakes often arrive when studios see a property with both nostalgia value and room for modern reinterpretation. Thunderbolt & Lightfoot blends buddy dynamics, heist conventions, and character-driven drama — fertile ground for a contemporary star like Reynolds, who blends comedy and pathos well. Additionally, Hollywood has been leaning into reboots that let streaming platforms capitalize on recognizable IP while reshaping tone and casting for today’s audiences.
Potential casting buzz and fan hopes
Reports suggest the remake could reunite Reynolds with Hugh Jackman — a pairing many fans have long speculated about. Given both actors’ chemistry and box-office track record, such casting would pivot the film toward a high-profile buddy-heist dynamic. Still, producers will need to balance reverence for the original with fresh character dynamics to justify retelling the story.
Context, comparisons, and critical perspective
Comparatively, this remake sits alongside recent successful heist and buddy films that updated older properties for modern sensibilities — think Logan’s tonal reinvention of superhero tropes or the Anthony and Joe Russo–style reboots that meld character depth with blockbuster hooks. A potential pitfall is leaning too hard on nostalgia instead of finding new stakes; the best remakes recontextualize, not just replicate.
"Remaking a film like Thunderbolt & Lightfoot is an opportunity to explore how friendship and betrayal read in a different era," says cinema historian Lena Morales. "If handled well, it can honor the original's grit while giving Reynolds and a new co-star room to surprise audiences."
Reynolds’ busy slate
The Thunderbolt remake is only one of Reynolds’ ongoing projects. He recently signed on to play a villain in Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the Eloise children’s books, produced by Maximum Effort, and is among the producers of the John Candy documentary John Candy: I Like Me, which premiered at TIFF 2024 and is now available via Amazon.
The coming months should reveal casting choices and whether Shane Reid’s first directorial turn will lean stylized, comic, or dramatically grounded. For cinephiles, the remake promises a conversation between 1970s counterculture cinema and today’s streaming-era star vehicles. Whether it becomes a worthy reimagining will depend on how it balances homage, reinvention, and the magnetic screen presence of its leads.
In short: expect a high-profile, character-focused heist film — one that could be as playful as it is tense — and keep an eye on casting announcements, which will determine how boldly the project diverges from Cimino’s original.
Comments
atomwave
Is this even true? Reynolds doing a Thunderbolt remake sounds cool, but are they gonna flatten the grit for jokes? Feels risky if they dont care for the original's tone.
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