Earlier this year, a rumor that Zendaya was being eyed for the lead role in a remake of The Fugitive circulated online. The source had a spotty track record, but we now have some updates from a more reliable scooper.
According to Daniel Richtman, the Spider-Man: Brand New Day star has now been offered the part, and David Keith is on board to direct for Warner Bros.
The Fugitive began as a '60s TV series, before being rebooted for the big screen in 1993, with Harrison Ford taking on the role of the falsely accused Richard Kimble. Tommy Lee Jones also starred as the US Marshal leading the hunt for Kimble, and ended up winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.
Zendaya is fast becoming one of the most prolific and highly sought-after young actors in Hollywood. In addition to reprising the role of MJ in Brand New Day, she will return as Chani in Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Three, and is also set to play the Goddess Athena in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey.
If she does sign on to star in The Fugitive, we assume she will play a new character and not a gender-switched take on Kimble.
During a recent interview with Elle.com, Zendaya revealed that she looks for opportunities that would allow her to challenge herself as an actress.
“I am drawn to complicated characters who I have to earn the audience’s empathy and trust for,” she said. “I want to expand the roles someone like me is allowed to do, or can do. As a Black woman, what I can do as an actress?"
“I remember being on set for Euphoria; it was a night shoot at a ranch. I was so tired, but I was also learning my Chakobsa lines for Dune. And then I started writing out my lines to memorize for that quick turnaround trip I was going to make to Iceland [for The Odyssey],” she added. “It’s not like I have a lot of lines in The Odyssey, but I was working with Christopher Nolan! The most embarrassing thing in life would be messing up my lines, which did happen once.”
"Wrongfully accused of murdering his wife, Richard Kimble escapes from the law in an attempt to find her killer and clear his name. Pursuing him is a team of U.S. marshals led by Deputy Samuel Gerard, a determined detective who will not rest until Richard is captured. As Richard leads the team through a series of intricate chases, he discovers the secrets behind his wife's death and struggles to expose the killer before it is too late."