Ryan Reynolds Reboots A Clint Eastwood Classic Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
Fresh off Deadpool & Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds is plotting a reboot of a Clint Eastwood classic, even as questions linger over whether he’ll suit up for Avengers: Doomsday.
Ryan Reynolds is lining up his next caper, and he picked a big one: a fresh take on Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges' 1974 two-hander Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. If you just saw him slice and wisecrack through Deadpool & Wolverine, this is a pivot that still makes sense: crime, odd-couple chemistry, and a little danger. Also, there is a behind-the-scenes wrinkle worth flagging.
So what is he remaking?
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Reynolds is developing a reboot of Thunderbolt and Lightfoot at Amazon MGM Studios. He is eyeing the lead role, producing through his Maximum Effort banner, and co-writing the script with Enzo Mileti and Scott Wilson. The film will be the feature directorial debut of Shane Reid, who edited Deadpool & Wolverine. Not the most common route from the edit bay to the director's chair, but it can happen, and the material is a smart test case.
- Studio: Amazon MGM Studios
- Title: Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (reboot of the 1974 film)
- Star/Producer: Ryan Reynolds (via Maximum Effort), currently eyeing the lead
- Writers: Ryan Reynolds, Enzo Mileti, Scott Wilson
- Director: Shane Reid (making his feature debut; editor on Deadpool & Wolverine)
The 1974 original, quickly
Michael Cimino's directorial debut paired Jeff Bridges' freewheeling drifter Lightfoot with Clint Eastwood's veteran thief Thunderbolt. After Lightfoot swipes a car and collides with Thunderbolt mid-escape, old associates Red (George Kennedy) and Eddie (Geoffrey Lewis) resurface, convinced Thunderbolt double-crossed them after a Montana bank-vault job years earlier. Thunderbolt talks his way out of blame, and Lightfoot, being Lightfoot, pushes for a do-over: rebuild the crew and hit the same bank again. It is part road movie, part heist hangout, and it gave Bridges an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Cimino followed that first outing with The Deer Hunter a few years later, starring Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken, then rolled into Heaven's Gate (1980), Year of the Dragon (1985), The Sicilian (1987), Desperate Hours (1990), and The Sunchaser (1996), among others.
Where Reynolds is at right now
Reynolds is, of course, best known as Marvel's Deadpool/Wade Wilson, last seen in 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine. Whether he turns up in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday is still fuzzy; reports conflict on that one.
What is still unknown
No other casting has been announced for the new Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. There is no release date yet. For now, file it under: in the works, with a compelling team and a first-time director stepping up from the cutting room.