Merrick here...

MGM is looking to resurrect Charles Bronson's DEATH WISH, potentially with Stalllone directing and starring. Last year at this time, I would've said this was a terrible idea. Since then, I liked ROCKY BALBOA quite a bit & have heard good things about RAMBO. So...you know...there may be some possibilities here.

THIS VARIETY ARTICLE tells you a bit more about the project, including who has written it: Michael Ferris and John Brancato.

If those names sound familiar to you, it's because you've heard about them quite a bit lately on AICN - they're the scripters of TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES and the forthcoming TERMINATOR SALVATION.

I've always been fascinated by the subject matter of the original DEATH WISH film, although I wasn't too knocked out by the sequels (if you didn't know, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION's Marina Sirtis plays a girl who is violently assaulted and raped in in the series' 3rd installment).

Stallone has previously mentioned his possibile association with the film, but seemed to waver a bit after discouragement from Talkbackers. So, Sly, tell us...what happened to change your mind?

If the project moves forward, I hope the material will be handled with extremeness, rawness, and brutality - vigilantism and revenge are primal motivators which shouldn't be sanitized or whimpified. Also, I hope to God they keep the original film's final shot - one of my favorite closing moments in film.

Yes, this news was available yesterday. The AICN staff was distracted (work related).