'The Night of the Hunter' is a risky movie to re-make

Recently, it was reported that a remake of the classic 1955 thriller Night of the Hunter is in the works. Who knows when it'll ever get made amid all the covd-19 madness.

It's still hard to wrap my mind around the fact that the movie industry and theater chains are totally shut down for the foreseeable future.

Still, I'm intrigued. I am big fan of the original film and the riveting Davis Grubb novel on which it's based (and which the movie is surprisingly faithful to). The moody masterpiece was ahead of its time -- dark and foreboding -- with an iconic lead performance by Robert Mitchum as a sadistic preacher.

As a rule of thumb, it's almost always an enormous risk to re-make a good movie, let alone a beloved classic. While Night of the Hunter wasn't a hit upon its initial release, it grew in stature over the ensuing decades, becoming highly influential. Remember Radio Raheem's 'love vs hate' fists in Do the Right Thing? A direct homage to this movie.

That being said, perhaps a new version which wouldn't be as constricted by ratings and censorship might be interesting. After all, the story is essentially about a serial killer going after a woman and her young children in the hopes of uncovering some hidden, stolen money.

Casting is key -- that original film wouldn't work if you don't have the machismo of Mitchum at its center. But which modern actor can bring that type of heat?

When I heard this news about the reboot, there was only one actor who came to mind -- Ryan Gosling.

Here me out. No he's not quite the imposing physical presence Mitchum was (although he proved in Drive and Only God Forgives, he could be) but he is one of the few stars out there who can be both sexy, unpredictable and quietly menacing if he needs to be.

He's in a bit of a weird space career-wise. La La Land was an enormous success but also lead to an enormous backlash. He is brilliant in the under-appreciated Blade Runner 2049, but that movie was a box office disappointment. Same goes for First Man, another great film that didn't connect for some reason, even though its quite moving and a technical marvel.

A Night of the Hunter remake would be a great vehicle for him to reinvent himself. He's 39 now, and so some of that boyishness can be put behind him and since he isn't ubiquitous at the movies as some of his peers, it could feel like a comeback even if it isn't.

I could see Matthew McConaughey in the role too, come to think of it -- although somehow his casting feels maybe a little too on the nose?' A black actor in the role might be interesting, too. My wife floated Idris Elba, a great actor who has never really had a great big screen role. This could rectify that.

Besides casting the lead, I am very curious what the visual dynamic of the movie will be. The original is one of the great, gorgeous black & white films. Director Charles Laughton (an actor whose sole directing credit this was) used an evocative, dreamy atmosphere to really capture a child's perspective on the story. I'd be fascinated to see someone put a striking, signature stamp on the material.

For instance, Tim Burton just popped in there. The director has really been off his game for years -- but this would be the kind of macabre but adult film that might propel him back to his past greatness. Just steer clear of Johnny Depp!