Len Wiseman to direct the Total Recall remake

Because what’s old is new profitable again, TOTAL RECALL is being remade. This was news to me, until I looked back and saw we’d written about it twice already, but the big story of the day is that the project has found a director.

Columbia has anointed Len Wiseman to helm the project, which looks to be an Arnold-free reimagining of the Philip K. Dick story. Why does that name sound familiar? Well Wiseman has directed two UNDERWORLD movies and LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD. I don’t have very strong opinions on either, but do you really want an unmemorable director tackling a project like this? I’m not so sure, but Columbia has faith.

“Len has an incredible love of the genre and a great gift for action. He’ll bring a contemporary feel to the film while taking care with everything we love about Philip K. Dick’s original story.”

Moritz said, “I have been trying for years to work with Len and fortunately we finally found a great project that he loves as much as we do. Len is terrifically talented and we know he is the right director to re-imagine Total Recall for a new generation of fans.”

Wiseman added, “I’ve always been fascinated with Philip K. Dick’s short story, and I’m excited at that prospect of diving even deeper into the type of world it evokes and the questions it asks. I love that the most crucial mystery our character is trying to solve is the one of his own soul.”

TOTAL RECALL does have a pretty fascinating story at its core, thanks to Dick, and I would actually not rule out seeing what an updated version of the film would look like. But it has to be done well, and I’m not yet convinced with this director pick that this is a good idea.