Joe Carnahan woke up Monday morning to learn that his gritty survival drama The Grey had won the weekend at the box office with an estimated domestic pull of $20 million. (OK, he probably knew as early as Friday afternoon that he’d win the weekend, but work with me here, people.) Thanks to strong openings for The Grey and 2010’s The A-Team (also with Liam Neeson), Carnahan has bought himself a little credibility to be able to pick and choose his next project. It sounds like he’s going for Death Wish.

Carnahan is circling a deal to write and direct a revamp of the quintessential 1970s vengeance thriller, based on the novel by Brian Garfield, The Playlist reports. Of course, you know that the original film starred Charles Bronson as a furious father who takes to the streets with gun in hand after thugs rape his wife and beat his daughter. Several people have tried to mount a Death Wish remake – most recently, Sylvester Stallone almost pulled it off – but Ridley and Tony Scott’s Scott Free is behind this one, and they want Carnahan at the helm.

Not to beat this drum again, but a remake? Really? Audiences turned out for The Grey because it offered something wholly original. Carnahan should be allowed to try something equally fresh, like the rumored takes on Killing Pablo or the adaptation of James Ellroy’s classic noir White Jazz he’s been talking about for years. Yes, if Carnahan moves forward with Death Wish, it would make sense to bring Neeson along with him. (And the actor has suggested he’d be doing more action, niche projects in the near future, so maybe he was aware this was coming together.) But on the heels of Neil Jordan’s The Brave One and Kevin Bacon’s vigilante drama Death Sentence, I’m not sure Carnahan can find anything new to say about the one-note genre. We shall see.