After producing “Top Gun: Maverick” 36 years after the release of the original 1986 Tom Cruise fighter pilot classic, Jerry Bruckheimer has his eyes on another one of his classic films for a legacy-quel: the submarine thriller “Crimson Tide.”
The producer revealed his plans during an interview on “The Rich Eisen Show” while promoting his newly released film “F1” starring Brad Pitt, which Warner Bros. and Apple released this past Friday. While not revealing names, Bruckheimer said that “Crimson Tide” is not just an idea, and that he’s already made hires for the project.
“We have a really good director and writer talking to the navy right now about what’s going on under the water,” Bruckheimer said on Tuesday’s episode of “The Rich Eisen Show.”
What isn’t clear at this stage is whether the original film’s star, Denzel Washington, would return for another round on the USS Alabama. In the 1995 film made famous by Hans Zimmer’s Grammy-winning score, Washington played Navy Lt. Commander Ron Hunter, who is named the Alabama’s executive officer by its captain, Frank Ramsey, played by the late Gene Hackman.
But the relationship between the two men boils over when the Alabama receives an order to launch nuclear missiles at a Russian base amidst a rebellion staged by an ultranationalist in the country. But as they prepare to fire, a second command is interrupted when their radio is destroyed. Ramsey decides to go through with the nuclear attack while Hunter refuses to go along with it, resulting in a conflict that splits the submarine’s crew apart.
Washington’s next film is “Highest 2 Lowest,” which will be released by A24 and Apple in August and sees the Oscar winner reunite for the first time in 19 years with director Spike Lee. He is also set to appear in Ryan Coogler’s third “Black Panther” film for Marvel Studios.
While discussing Washington’s potential involvement, Bruckheimer said that a script has not been locked for “Crimson Tide,” but told Eisen that ““If we give him a good script, I think he’d do it.”
Disney, which released the first “Crimson Tide” through the now-defunct Buena Vista Pictures, declined to comment.
You can listen to the full “The Rich Eisen Show” interview in the video above.
