James Marsden to Star in Straw Dogs Remake

Posted by on April 23rd, 2009   Filed under: Remakes, Thriller
Source: Coming Soon

jamesmarsdenstrawdogs

It was announced back in 2007 that Rod Lurie would be directing a remake Sam Peckinpah’s gritty thriller Straw Dogs. The original 1971 film stars Dustin Hoffman as an American who moves to England and after he and his wife are terrorized by the locals, he prepares to defend his home against them. It was violent and controversial at the time, and it seems likely that the remake will also follow suit, possibly riding the wave of recent home invasion movies like Funny Games, Them and The Strangers.

This week a casting announcement has finally been made for the Straw Dogs remake, and the star is not necessarily someone I would have expected to see. James Marsden (X-Men, Enchanted) will play the lead role of David Sumner. Sumner’s character has been changed to an L.A. screenwriter for the remake, and the movie takes place in the southern U.S. rather than Great Britain. While Marsden’s resume consists of a lot of romantic comedies as of late, he is also starring in Richard Kelly’s upcoming horror/sci-fi flick The Box. Either way, I’m guessing this will show a very different, much more intense side of him. What do you think, can James Marsden pull it off? Are you looking forward to Rod Lurie’s remake of Straw Dogs?



  • Phil G

    I can’t imagine a re-make of STRAW DOGS working, and I don’t see anything in Rod Lurie’s filmography that would suggest he is up to the task. DOGS is definitely a movie of it’s time, but one that still has remarkable power. How will they handle the rape scene in the re-make? That scene makes OBSERVE AND REPORTS “date rape” scene (which was much ado from fucktards who don’t know how to read a film about nothing) look like child’s play. The original is deliberately paced, slowly and methodically building to a violent climax that does not play it safe in any way. This is a film that has been misread and misunderstood since it came out, and I just can’t imagine a re-make having the same complexity and power today. The origial still has the ability to provoke and disturb. It is still controversial after all these years.

    It does take some brass nuts and a major ego to think that they can step in and re-make Peckinpah, so I guess you have to give Lurie credit for that, but he can still go fuck himself.

    And, no, Marsden could not pull it off.

  • swarez

    Boooooooo! Weak.

  • Damndirtyape

    ^ What they said!!

  • Jimmy 4ever

    Marsden can surely pull it off. you speak without even know him as an actor! go see “the 24th day” and then you can say something

  • Marc

    Marsden can definitely pull it off. He is a very talented actor. I don’t think the X-men movies used him enough and gave him enough range.

  • onestell

    I’d go see it, but more importantly, … whatever happened to THE PREACHER project he was attached to?