In my younger and more vulnerable years, I thought Thunderbolt and Lightfoot was a movie about two dogs. It makes sense, because these are two very plausible names for dogs and less plausible names for humans. Nonetheless, the film is about humankind. Two kinds of humans, to be exact: big-time bank robbers in disguise, and low-level bandits who don’t bother with disguise.
In the original 1974 Michael Cimino buddy action-comedy film, Clint Eastwood plays John “Thunderbolt” Doherty, a bank robber on the lam, who accidentally teams up with a carjacker named Lightfoot (Jeff Bridges). Thunderbolt’s on the run from his old gang who incorrectly believe he double-crossed him and now want him dead… except he’s the only member of the gang who knows where the robbery spoils are hidden. Thus, he and Lightfoot go on a cross-country journey together to recover the loot from his last big score.. and pull off a daring new heist. George Kennedy is in it, as is a young Gary Busey.
It’s a classic of 1970s crime cinema. Why anyone would want to remake it… I don’t know. But apparently it is in the works. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Reynolds’s production company Maximum Effort has teamed up with Amazon MGM to get the ball rolling, and is reportedly collaborating on a script with Enzo Mileti and Scott Wilson (Season Four of Fargo). Shane Reid, the editor of Deadpool & Wolverine, will be making his directorial debut.
Reynolds will likely star… my money is that he’ll want to play Lightfoot, opposite some heavy as Thunderbolt. The same Hollywood Reporter piece speculates that Reynolds might try to cast Hugh Jackman (his screen partner in Deadpool & Wolverine), which would definitely increase the film’s audience interest.
So… we’ll see what happens. Will anything be as good as the original? No. But I suppose… “in for a penny, in for a pound.”
