‘Logan’s Run’ Back in the Race with Ryan Gosling Starring

Logan’s Run is back in the race.

After losing helmer Carl Rinsch in the fall due to scheduling conflicts, Warner Bros. and producers Joel Silver and Akiva Goldsman are lining up Nicolas Winding Refn to sit in the director’s chair for the sci-fi project, which is now being developed as a vehicle for Ryan Gosling, who just closed a deal to star.   Danish Refn made some noise with his gritty prison drama Bronson, which starred Tom Hardy, and is making his Hollywood debut with this year’s action thriller Drive, which stars Gosling. Run would be a step-up to the tentpole leagues for Refn, while also acting as the same for Gosling, who has been very picky with his studio entries.   Alex Garland has written the script, which is said to hew closer to the 1967 novel by William F. Nolan than the 1976 feature starring Michael York, Jenny Agutter, and Farrah Fawcett.  The hook is a future society where people are executed upon reaching a certain age and those that seek to avoid their fate are deemed “Runners.”   The character of Logan is one of those executioners, known as the Sandmen, who ends up on the run after he becomes sympathetic with members of an underground railroad of Runners.   Refn becomes the latest director associated with Run, which has always attracted high-profile filmmakers. In addition to Rinsch, Bryan Singer, Robert Schwentke and Joseph Kosinski are those that have been previously attached as directors.