Sly Confirms Walter Hill Directing Stallone Actioner ‘Headshot’

Old school action fans, Sylvester Stallone hears your pleas. Most likely he took criticism of his direction regarding “The Expendables” to heart, announcing he would not be directing the sequel. Now he’s fulfilling their wishes by teaming up with one of the most respected action directors of all time. After a few early negotiations, Walter Hill will be directing Stallone in “Headshot.”

“It’s official,” Stallone told AICN. “We’ve got Walter Hill onboard so would love for you to let the world know.” Clearly a fan of Hill, he goes on to say, “We’ve been on the same track since ‘The Driver,’ then ‘48 Hrs‘ didn’t happen so here we are almost 35 years later, I’m finally driving with Walter Hill.” Man, that is going to be one grizzled set.

Alessandro Camon, co-writer of “The Messenger,” penned this cop-thriller (which is apparently on the lighter side, something that caused an impasse between Stallone and original director Wayne Kramer) about an NYPD cop who teams with a hardened veteran to investigate a wide-ranging conspiracy that runs from New Orleans to Washington D.C., though Harry Knowles at AICN claims that it is also actually a cop/hitman film. So Stallone could be playing an older assassin, retracing steps he took in, um, “Assassins.” Regardless, he’ll be teamed with a much younger actor, so it could be interesting to see the screen legend tango with a younger type.

Stallone makes mention of two previous Hill hits, “The Driver” and “48 Hrs” and while that semi-reliable (but fun) site notstarring.com confirms Stallone was a possibility to star in “48 Hrs” (maybe alongside a young Denzel Washington!) this is the first any of us have heard about Sly and “The Driver.” Though it’s worth noting in the early nineties there was talk of Hill and Stallone collaborating on an American remake of John Woo‘s “The Killer.” Which will always be a dubious idea, but much more preferable than the alternative.