Glen Powell, Stephen Gaghan Tackling ‘Heaven Can Wait’ Reimagining for Paramount

A remake of Heaven Can Wait is in early development at Paramount with Glen Powell, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

Stephen Gaghan, an Oscar winner for his script for Steven Soderbergh’s 2000 crime film Traffic, is writing the project for Powell to star. Based on Harry Segall’s play of the same name, the original 1978 movie Heaven Can Wait starred Warren Beatty and was nominated for nine Oscars including best picture, with the film notching a win for best art direction.

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Heaven Can Wait centered on Beatty as an NFL quarterback who dies prematurely due to an antsy angel and returns to Earth in the body of a recently murdered millionaire. Beatty directed the film with Buck Henry and co-wrote the script with Elaine May.

Segall’s play Heaven Can Wait had previously been adapted for the 1941 feature Here Comes Mr. Jordan, with the lead character being a boxer, and again with the Chris Rock-led 2001 comedy Down to Earth, which centered on a comedian.

Powell and Gaghan’s project is said not to be a remake — the main character will not be a football player — but will feature the same concept of a man plucked away before his time.

Powell continues to be an extremely in-demand leading man following the success of Sony’s romantic comedy Anyone but You opposite Sydney Sweeney. Other projects in the works for Powell — who can be seen this summer in Richard Linklater’s Hit Man for Netflix and Universal’s action sequel Twisters — include the revenge drama Huntington, Edgar Wright’s adaptation of The Running Man and a new film from J.J. Abrams.

Newsletter Puck was first to report about the new Heaven Can Wait project.

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