Get ready for a new brand of grumpy.
Eddie Murphy is in talks to star in a remake of Grumpy Old Men that Tim Story, the helmer of the Ride Along movies, will direct for New Line, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Murphy would play one of the feuding seniors made famous by Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in the 1993 comedy about a lifelong battle between two neighbors that only gets worse when a new female neighbor (played by Ann-Margret) moves across the street.
Grumpy Old Men spawned a 1995 sequel, Grumpier Old Men, which earned $72 million domestically, a nearly identical haul as the original version.
Warner Bros. has been eager to refashion some of the films from its archives with an all-female spin, given the success of this summer’s Ocean’s 8 ($263 million), and a black-led reinvention of a comedy classic would fall within that progressive mandate. Insiders say the project could get a new title.
John Davis, who produced the previous Grumpy Old Men movies, is producing the new iteration.
Murphy, who is currently shooting Dolemite Is My Name for producer Davis, has appeared in a number of hit remakes and updates, including Dr. Doolittle and The Nutty Professor.
Story, who also directed Fox’s Fantastic Four movies, is coming off of a Shaft sequel he directed for New Line and which stars Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson has been mentioned as a possible co-star for the Grumpy Old Men remake.
Murphy is repped by WME, ML Management and Ziffren Brittenham. Story is handled by UTA and Ziffren Brittenham.
