James Marsden Joins Straw Dogs Remake

It’s time for another pointless remake. I’ve stumbled across an article on RopeofSilicon that confirms a remake of the 1971 feature Straw Dogs. It will be written and directed by Rod Lurie, who will revamp the Sam Peckinpah original. Speculation surrounding the movie has been vague due to the lack of production info provided by the studio. The film is set up at Screen Gems and for the longest time there was just a release date and nothing more. Well, that’s no longer the case. Someone has joined the cast, and surprisingly it’s a former X-Man.

Dustin Hoffman was the lead actor in the original Straw Dogs and for the remake James Marsden will step into the role of David Sumner. Yep, Cyclops from X-Men is the first cast member to be confirmed for the movie. Marsden will play him as a screenwriter instead of Hoffman’s astrophysicist. The story in the first film had Sumner and his wife move overseas to England to escape the escalating violence in America. In the remake that will be changed, and they will escape to the southern states as opposed to leaving the country. From there trouble will ensue, and tensions will rise.

I think that James Marsden is an OK actor, but I don’t know about him filling the shoes of Dustin Hoffman on this one. I’m not sure if I understand the point of this movie being redone at all. Let alone with such a questionable lead. I wonder who they will cast as the wife who was originally played by Susan George?

Do you think they should remake Straw Dogs? Is Marsden a good choice for the lead?