Warner Bros. continues its quest to “update” every famous literary adventure novel ever written, with its sights now set on Miguel de Cervantes’ 17th-Century classic, The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha, which is generally referred to simply as Don Quixote.
Producer Joel Silver – the Hollywood powerhouse behind (you guessed it) Sherlock Holmes – is teaming up with Warner Bros. to create a “Pirates of the Caribbean-style swashbuckling version of the story” for modern-day moviegoers.
However, this cinematic incarnation of Don Quixote will not portray its titular character as a madman who chases windmills, but instead as a tried-and-true hero who does battle against an actual fantasy world of monsters and demons.
So what does this mean for director Terry Gilliam and his hopes of bringing his long-troubled dream project, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, to the big screen? If Gilliam can snag a financier for his film sooner than later, he could conceivably get his own Don Quixote movie out long before Warner Bros. does, and thus give moviegoers a much more inspired and imaginative take on the tale.
Don Quixote is but the latest period adventure story that Warner Bros. wants to give the big-budget blockbuster treatment to, after the success of Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes last winter. They also have Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) lined up to helm their own 3D version of The Three Musketeers and a modernized take on Treasure Island – which, like Don Quixote, will probably be fashioned after the Pirates of the Caribbean films – in development.
Did the success of Sherlock Holmes really warrant this new wave of classic books-turned-tentpole movies? It did gross over $500 million worldwide and was entertaining in its own right, but let’s be honest – would it have been as popular were it not for the presence of Robert Downey Jr.? Probably not, but leave it to Hollywood to assume the movie was a hit due to an excess of explosive set pieces and action sequences – as opposed to the film’s charismatic leading man and his chemistry with costars Jude Law and Rachel McAdams.
What do you think? Would you like to see Don Quixote get the big-budget treatment? Are you still holding out hopes for Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote? Sound off in the comments section below.
We’ll keep you updated on the development of Warner Bros.’ take on Don Quixote as more information comes our way.
