“Mr. Robot” star Rami Malek is in talks to join the remake of “Papillon” alongside Charlie Hunnam, TheWrap has learned.
The actor would play Louis Dega, the role made famous by Dustin Hoffman in the 1973 original. Hunnam is already signed to take on Steve McQueen‘s role of Henri Charrière.
“Papillon” is backed by Red Granite Pictures and will be directed by Michael Noer.
The remake will take a modern tack on the original “Papillon,” which was based on the memoirs of a convicted felon (Charrière) who escaped from Devil’s Island, a South American settlement for exiled prisoners. Charrière is helped by Malek’s character (Dega), a counterfeiter.
Red Granite was recently implicated in a U.S. Justice Department attempt to seize more than $1 billion in assets, including proceeds from “The Wolf of Wall Street,” from a Malaysian wealth fund associated with the Hollywood production company. However DOJ documents specify that the lawsuit was not filed against Red Granite or against any of its other motion picture assets, freeing the company to proceed with “Papillon.”
Malek also starred in “Short Term 12,” “Need for Speed” and “Night at the Museum.” He is nominated for an Emmy and Golden Globe for his role in “Mr. Robot.”
Production on “Papillon” will begin next month.