Mel Gibson to direct, co-write remake of Sam Peckinpah's 1969 classic western Wild Bunch

Veteran actor Mel Gibson has been roped in to direct the remake of 1969 classic western The Wild Bunch. The 62-year-old actor-director will also co-write the film’s script, alongside Bryan Bagby, and executive produce it, reported Deadline. [caption id=“attachment_5257421” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Mel Gibson. Twitter @DerangedRadio[/caption] The original, directed by Sam Peckinpah, featured an ensemble cast of Wiliam Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O’Brien, Warren Oates, Jaime Sanchez and Ben Johnson. The story followed an aging outlaw gang on the Mexico- United States border trying to adapt to the changing modern world of 1913. The film was controversial for its graphic violent scenes but later came to be accepted as a ‘stylistic masterpiece’, writes Deadline. Gibson’s forthcoming project includes the World War II drama Destroyer and will be his first direction since receiving an Oscar nomination for Hacksaw Ridge. The film,which tells the story of American naval ship USS Laffey, features Mark Walhberg in the lead and expected to start shooting next year. The veteran actor will also be sharing screen space with Colin Farrell in a revenge thriller titled  War Pigs , which will centre on a group of disillusioned ex-marines who go on one last mission to get revenge on the cartel that murdered a colleague and stole their drug money. (With inputs from Press Trust of India)