Bradley Cooper will be Bullitt in the new Spielberg film based on the character played by Steve McQueen

Steven Spielberg had been clear since February that he wanted to revive the lead character from “Bullit” played by Steve McQueen and give him his own movie. At the time, the only thing that was clear to me was: neither the cast, nor the plot, nor a complete script. Now, according to SlashFilm, the director hand-picked Bradley Cooper to play Frank Bullittthe San Francisco cop at the wheel of the Mustang that has become a classic of the 1960s.

Although Spielberg has demonstrated with “West Side Story” that he can successfully reinterpret a classic, his idea for “Bullitt” is very different. The film is not meant to be a remake of the 1960s thriller, but to delve into Frank Bullitt, the character played by McQueen. That’s why it’s unknown if the storyline will have nods to the original or try to surpass (if possible) its iconic car chase. At the moment the only thing certain is that Cooper will carry the weight of the plot.

The actor and director have wanted to work together for years. According to Deadline, Spielberg and Cooper have been trying to come up with ideas for the “Bullitt” project since lockdown. They were close to working together on ‘The Sniper’ but it ended up being Clint Eastwood who directed the film. Later, at the beginning of ‘Master’ which is set to be released on Netflix in 2023, Spielberg let Cooper take the director’s chair as well as star in the film after seeing his work in ‘A Star Is Born’.

Who else will participate in the project?

The screenplay will be written by acclaimed Josh Singer (“The West Wing of the White House”, “Spotlight”) with whom Spielberg previously worked on “The Pentagon Files”. Additionally, Chad and Molly McQueen, son and grandson of Steve McQueen, will serve as executive producers on the film.