It was reported back in November that the directing team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, who had also written the script, had left the Hex project due to creative differences. After that Warner Bros., who hopes to put the film into production by March or April went on a fast-track search for a new director. The short list that also included the likes of Andy Fickman and McG was whittled down to just one man: Horton Hears A Who! co-director, Jimmy Hayward.
Hayward will make his live-action debut with Jonah Hex, which is based on the DC Comics character.
The character of Hex (who is still set to be played by Josh Brolin), known for having the right side of his face disfigured and wearing a Confederate army uniform, was a rough-and-tumble gunslinger and part-time bounty hunter whose adventures always ended in blood. One incarnation of his comic book series saw the Western genre combined with supernatural elements, and it’s this aspect that was featured in Neveldine and Taylor’s script. The studio will likely keep the script, though it’s expected that Hayward will put his stamp on it.
Andrew Lazar’s Mad Chance and Akiva Goldsman’s Weed Road are producing.
Hayward, repped by UTA and manager Jason Grode, began his career as an animator on the Canadian TV series ReBoot before becoming a member of the Pixar family, where he worked on such films as Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo. He also was involved in Fox and Blue Sky’s animated film Robots.
With such an impressively animated resume, the real question now, is will these talents translate to a live-action gritty comic book based western flick?
Hayward made his directorial debut with 2008’s “Horton,” which grossed $154.5 million at the domestic box office.
Credit: Hollywood Reporter
