Remaking Arthur seems like kind of a bad idea. The 80s movies about a lovable, drunken billionaire hinged entirely on Dudley Moore. He was Arthur and without him there’s really nothing worth watching. Besides, isn’t the concept kind of dated? Do we still find alcoholism endearing and funny? It seems like a bad idea but if you’re going to remake it, then I guess it makes a lot of sense to remake it with Russell Brand in the title role.

Nobody’s better at making drug addiction seem sweet. Brand’s already pulled it off in two different movies as his rocker character Aldus Snow in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and to a much greater degree in Get Him To the Greek. Now he’s on set shooting Arthur, trying to make it work in the redo.

For those worried Brand’s take on Arthur would be just another iteration of his Forgetting Sarah Marshall character, there’s good news. Splash News has the first photo of Brand in his Arthur attire and he’s ditched the scruffy rocker look in favor of a clean-shaven, man about town in a bowler style. He looks weird without the scruff, but he also looks more like Arthur than expected. Check him out in a side by side comparison with the original Arthur, Dudley Moore:


Here's another look at Brand in character, as captured by Dlisted and Stylist:


Brand needs a Martini, but at least they have similar taste in hats. Directed by Jason Winer and starring Russell Brand, Jennifer Garner, Helen Mirren, and Nick Nolte, the new Arthur should hit theaters some time in 2011.