David Cronenberg to direct Denzel Washington thriller

David Cronenberg’s twilight career shift from the director of aberrant art-house exploitation to traditional crime dramas has turned more than a few heads, but it also happens to have led to some of his most accomplished films. Now the 65-year-old director of Eastern Promises and A History of Violence is on the verge of helming what would be his most mainstream project yet, The Matarese Circle, an adaptation of Bourne Identity author Robert Ludlum’s 1973 novel, with Denzel Washington set to star.

The Cold War-era film will center on an American (Washington) who must collaborate with a Russian to take on a group that attempts to infiltrate international politics to ominous ends.

If that doesn’t exactly sound like a Cronenberg gig to you, keep in mind that even on his recent films the Canadian provocateur has hewed carefully to his unapologetic philosophy of violence and dark, ambiguous turns for his characters. Even when he works within a studio-friendly paradigm, shades of the subversive old hand still come through. How he will negotiate his trademarks with a branded, marquee star like Denzel Washington remains to be seen.

The struggling studio MGM is keen to get the project in theaters as soon as possible, possibly as early as next year. As noted by Variety, if Cronenberg signs on, he would be the second unusual, high-profile choice of filmmaker for the studio after it nabbed Darren Aronofsky for its remake of Robocop.

Related links:
News: David Cronenberg's The Fly headed to the opera
Feature: Eastern Promises: Crime, Tattoos and a Steam Bath
Feature: David Cronenberg's History of Violence: Murder in a Small Town

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