Bradley Cooper and Steven Spielberg are two of Hollywood’s biggest names, and the filmmakers have already professionally collaborated on the upcoming movie Maestro. Initially Spielberg considered directing the biopic about composer Leonard Bernstein that Netflix subscribers will be able to stream, but he later approached Cooper about both directing and starring in it after seeing his work on A Star is Born. Now it’s been revealed that these two will be re-teaming, but this time, Spielberg will direct Cooper in a new movie.
Steven Spielberg has selected Bradley Cooper to play San Francisco cop Frank Bullitt, the character previously played by Steven McQueen in 1968’s Bullitt. However, rather than Spielberg putting together a Bullitt remake like he did with West Side Story, he’s instead having Cooper star in a new Bullitt story, with Josh Singer, co-wrote Maestro with Cooper, handling the screenplay. Cooper will also produce Bullitt alongside Spielberg and partner Kristie Macosko Krieger, and McQueen’s son, Chad, and his granddaughter Molly McQueen are attached as executive producers.
The 1968 Bullitt movie, which was based on the 1963 novel Mute Witness, followed Steve McQueen’s version of Frank Bullitt hunting down a mob boss who killed a witness under his protection. The original Bullitt is especially famous for having one of cinema’s most influential car chases. According to Deadline, although Bradley Cooper’s deal to star in Steven Spielberg’s Bullitt only recently closed, these two have been talking about the project going back to when the pandemic started. Now it looks like this will be finally be the thing that sees Spielberg directing Cooper, as the former nearly worked with the latter on 2014’s American Sniper, but Clint Eastwood was ultimately passed the helming reins.
This Bullitt news arrives just a few days before The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg’s latest movie, opens wide following its limited theatrical release on November 11. With Bradley Cooper being lined up as the lead actor, it’s looking like Bullitt will be the next movie that Spielberg tackles, although this hasn’t been officially confirmed yet. Speaking of Cooper, along with starring in both Licorice Pizza and Nightmare Alley in 2021, this year has seen him vocally reprise Rocket Raccoon in Thor: Love and Thunder and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, the latter of which will be viewable with a Disney+ subscription starting November 25. Cooper’s Rocket will return next year in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and the actor/filmmaker is currently overseeing postproduction on Maestro.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on how Bullitt is coming along. Those of you who closely track Steven Spielberg’s career should read our review of The Fabelmans in the meantime.