MGM Studios is developing a gender-flipped remake of the 1980s comedy classic Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and has tapped Pitch Perfect’s Rebel Wilson to star as one of two female leads.
In the original 1988 film, actors Steve Martin and Michael Caine play two con men who enter into a competition to see which one can swindle a young American heiress out of $50,000 first.
The updated version will reportedly see two female scam artists, one described as “low rent” and the other “high class,” compete to cheat a naive tech prodigy out of his fortune, according to Variety.
The 36-year-old actress took to Twitter Thursday to announce the news.
“The CON is ON!! I will be starring in a remake of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS for MGM x,” Wilson tweeted.
https://twitter.com/RebelWilson/status/761258203128721408
It’s the second serving of news this week about a major Hollywood studio looking to remake a cult classic by flipping the main characters’ genders.
As Breitbart News reported Tuesday, Channing Tatum is set to play a male mermaid in a gender-flipped remake of the hit 1980s romantic comedy Splash.
According to Deadline, The Magic Mike XXL star has been tapped for the role that actress Daryl Hannah made famous in the 1984 film.
It is currently unclear who will co-star alongside Wilson. MGM has not yet set a director or a writer, as the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels remake is still in development.
This summer saw the release of another hit 80s film that received a gender-flipped reboot. The Paul Feig-directed Ghostbusters — starring Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones as the ghoul-hunting heroes — opened in July.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @jeromeehudson
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