In spite of the sequels and tack-ons that followed the huge success of the original 1960 blockbuster, it’s time to go for broke and redo the whole thing. Who would you select from the current slate of he-men and tough guys to replace the original cast?
Yul Brynner
Steve McQueen
Charles Bronson
James Coburn
Robert Vaughn
Brad Dexter
Horst Buchholz
and of course
Eli Wallach
My first response upon seeing this thread was “For the love of god, why?!?”
But that doesn’t stop me from having an opinion or two, considering it’s probably only a matter of time anyways:
Three names that sprang immediately to mind were…
George Clooney
Brad Pitt
Russell Crowe
Slightly more “obscure”, but I’d like to see…
Johnny Depp
Will Smith
That leaves two more. Two names I definitely *don’t *want to see?
Ben Affleck
Matt Damon
It’s really no big surprise to see the “Ocean’s some-number” gang involved, since they’re probably as close as we have to the Rat Pack types these days. Another source may be the LOTR crowd.
It could also be a great opportunity for somebody to come up with the anti-magnificent seven including Adam Sandler, Pauly Shore, PeeWee Herman and the like. Or even an all-gal group.
Just have fun with the idea and just maybe Hollywood will leave this classic alone. Right.
Why does it have to be a male cast? I’d like to see a remake with a bunch of butt-kicking women. Peta Wilson, Jessica Alba, Kristanna Loken, and such.
I’ll bite:
Yul Brynner - Samuel Jackson
Steve McQueen - Daniel Craig
Charles Bronson - Pierce Brosnan
James Coburn - Sean Bean
Robert Vaughn - Ewan McGregor
Brad Dexter - Viggo Mortensen
Horst Buchholz - Daniel Radcliffe
and of course
Eli Wallach - Alan Rickman
Yummy.
Your wish is my command:
Yul Brynner - Jodie Foster
Steve McQueen - Helen Mirren
Charles Bronson - Halle Berry
James Coburn - Rosamund Pike
Robert Vaughn - Michelle Yeoh
Brad Dexter - Ziyi Zhang
Horst Buchholz - Kiera Knightley
and of course
Eli Wallach - Tilda Swinton
I love this line up except remove Pierce and replace him with Steve Buscemi. I was actually going to post Craig and Rickman. I like your other choices better than mine.
Jim
Did any of you ever see Mystery Men (1999)? I confess that I didn’t but I did see trailers and that made me remember that cast as a possible “7 whatever” in the anti-magnificent vein.
One blurb from IMDB: “The city’s fate rests in the hands of seven loser superhero wannabes: the fork-flinging Blue Rajah, the shovel-wielding Shoveler, the posessed bowling ball-hurling Bowler, the flatulent Spleen, the only-when-nobody’s-looking Invisible Boy, the mysterious Sphinx, and the perpetually-angry Mr. Furious.”
Just look at the cast for that one. Somewhere between those guys, Boogie Nights and maybe the remake of The Longest Yard lie the potential varmints who can make new examination of the “seven” concept sparkle again for the generation that missed the first go-round.
Better yet: a cast of B actors who have yet to rise above sidekick or assistant gofer. Who in that crowd needs the career boost?
BTW, on the all-gal issue, note above where I did say, “It could also be a great opportunity for somebody to come up with the anti-magnificent seven including Adam Sandler, Pauly Shore, PeeWee Herman and the like. Or even an all-gal group.”
Just please stay away from anime and Hanna Barbera. Please. No Yoda, either.
Half-serious now. I’d really love to see an all-African-American redo. Maybe even have it done in Africa so the villagers are all Black, too. I’m flexible on that part but the 7 should be pulled from this group of outstanding guys:
Samuel L. Jackson
Ving Rhames
Don Cheadle
Dennis Haysbert
Forest Whitaker
Denzel Washington
Will Smith
(Yes, I know some of these were mentioned earlier. That’s a good thing.)
Unless somebody can name a better actor, I want Yaphet Kotto for the Eli Wallach role.
Other candidates for the Seven:
Andre Braugher
Bill Duke
Bill Nunn
Laurence Fishburne
Wesley Snipes
Danny Glover
Mykelti Williamson
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Omar Epps
(add to this list)
Somebody might want to build an Asian group or a Latino group, too. That would work.
I’d watch this! 
But surely either Michelle or Ziyi ought to play Coburn’s part, since they have the physical skills?
It seems like this idea could be played out as US soldiers in Somalia going AWOL to protect a village against a local warlord.
Not a bad idea. Another thought might be to modify the makeup of The Unit to an all-black group and have them go rogue from whatever agency they are affiliated with. Haysbert is so right for his role in that show. The finale left it open as to how next season (which I think I saw will happen) will proceed. The team of Mamet and Ryan have done great things with the characters and situations and I foresee this show rising in respect next year. It’s been a favorite of mine from the get-go.
So does Pike.
I considered him for Horst, but he’s too old.
Wouldn’t an Asian group be a remake of “Seven Samurai”?
Though I suppose it could be a non Japan movie.
No Yoda? there goes my Muppet Magnificent Seven
(Yoda, Kermit, Fozzie, Sam the Eagle, Gonzo, Rolf, and Animal)
Brian
I’d go.
You do have a point! Why would Japanese film makers want to do a copy of a copy of a classic that began there? It would be like doing a remake of the American remake of Godzilla or Rodan. (I remember it was cool in high school to yell out in the halls “Rodan’s in heat!” – but that was long ago).
But if you go for a more international cast to include Chow Yun-Fat and Jackie Chan and maybe some of the Bollywood hunks, I suppose the Japanese could grin at that audacity?
Aha!
I realise she was in ‘Die another day’.
Certainly she has the agility (and is a hottie 
).