Netflix Remaking French Classic ‘The Wages Of Fear’ With Julien Leclercq At Helm; Unveils First Look

Netflix has announced a remake of the 1950s French classic The Wages of Fear (Le Salaire de la Peur), in a production reuniting the platform with action-thriller maestro Julien Leclercq.

Production is currently underway on the untitled film for a scheduled release in 2024.

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The 1953 original starred Yves Montand, Peter van Eyck, Charles Vanel and Folco Lulli as four down-on-their-luck men who are hired to drive trucks laden with nitroglycerine through the mountains as part of an operation to extinguish an oil well fire.

The work is regarded as one of the most suspenseful action-thrillers of all time.

Leclercq’s reboot stars Franck Gastambide, best known internationally for his role in Taxi 5, opposite Alban Lenoir (Lost Bullet), Ana Girardot (The House) and Sofiane Zermani (No Limit).

“To reunite this cast for the reboot of such a film, for a worldwide broadcast with Netflix, forces me to put all my heart and guts into it,” said Leclercq. “The ambition is huge.”

No further details have been released about the remake but a first-look image released by Netflix suggests a contemporary setting.

Leclercq’s credits include a raft of high-octane action-thrillers including The Assault, Braqueurs and Sentinelle and he previously collaborated with Netflix on the show Ganglands.

The director also takes co-writing credits on the feature with Hamid Hlioua, whose credits include Ganglands and The Eddy.

Julien Madon and Leclercq are producing under the banner of their Paris-based company Labyrinthe Films with TF1 Studios.

The original film was directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot and co-adapted by Jean and Henri-Georges Clouzot, from the eponymous novel by Georges Arnaud.

The film won the top prizes at the 1953 editions of the Berlin and Cannes film festivals and was a hit at home, drawing close to seven million spectators.

Subsequent works inspired by the film and original novel include Howard W. Koch’s Violent Road, William Friedkin’s Sorcerer and an episode of the 1980s TV series MacGyver.

Christopher Nolan has also talked about how he screened the feature to his crew on Dunkirk in preparation for truck scenes in the World War Two drama.

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