I’d be dishonest if I didn’t start by stating that I’m a huge fan of Park Chan-Wook’s 2003 opus Oldboy, and that I think an American remake is a really poor choice.

That said, apparently plans for a remake are back on. Originally Steven Spielberg wanted to put the project together with Will Smith in the lead role (if you’ve seen it, you understand the myriad levels on which that doesn’t work), but now Spielberg is apparently just one of a few directors vying for the chance to update the South Korean revenge thriller for domestic audiences.

As tweeted by Pajiba this morning:

Protosevich’s “Oldboy” script nearly in — studio high on it. Mandate to re-engage Spielberg, Vaughn; failing that, D. Boyle

What does this mean? That Steven Spielberg and Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass) are the frontrunners for the director spot, and Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) will be next in line should both of them turn it down. It’s upsetting that both of the backup plans seem like better fits for this material than the first choice, but if it’s going to happen, I guess any of the above will work. What do you guys think? Can you think of somebody else who’d be better for it?