Resident tough guy Manu Bennett (Spartacus, Arrow, Shannara Chronicles), is gearing up for the re-imagining of Roger Corman’s classic exploitation drive fest, Death Race 2000.
As reported in The Hollywood Reporter, production has already begun on Death Race 2050, which is shooting in Peru.
Directed by G.J. Echternkamp from a script he co-wrote with Matt Yamashita, Death Race 2050 sees Bennett stepping into the role of Frankenstein, while Malcolm McDowell will star as The Chairman.
In a statement, Roger Corman expressed his excitement for this new extension of the Death Race franchise.
“This is an amazing opportunity for me and millions of Death Race 2000 fans to experience the intensity, thrills and dark humor of the original, fueled by a terrific young cast, spectacular vehicles and side-splitting action, literally.”
This is the second Death Race reboot following the 2008 reboot starring Jason Statham and its sequels with Luke Goss, and New Zealander Manu Bennett will be the fourth actor to take up the mask of Frankenstein. While attending the recent New Zealand premiere of Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight the rising star said that he’d be drawing from Carradine’s performance for inspiration for his take on Frankenstein.
Manu Bennet (above)
In addition to the epic new cast, the new addition in the Death Race series will also bring to the forefront a batch of terrific new cars which will also be following in the tradition of the Monster’s driven by Frankenstein which included Carradine’s Chevrolet Corvette, which like a true monster incorporated a Volkswagen chassis, and a three speed manual transmission, and Statham’s 2005 Ford Mustang GT which packed a six speed transmission and a Supercharged 4.6L V8. There’s no word yet on what Bennett will drive, but judging by his aggressive acting persona we expect that it will be a vehicle that packs a serious punch.
Death Race 2050 will be released later this year on DVD, Blu-Ray and VOD.