Back in 2008 it was rumored that Steven Spielberg was planning a remake of ark Chan-wook's Oldboy starring none-other-than Will Smith. In the years since the project fell apart and both Spielberg and Smith took their names off the list. With the project once again up and running under Spike Lee's direction, however, it now seems that one of Smith's Men In Black III co-stars has taken his place.

Deadline has learned that Josh Brolin has officially signed on to play the lead role in the English-language remake of Oldboy. Brolin recently completed shooting Barry Sonnenfeld's Men In Black III, in which he plays a 1960s version of Tommy Lee Jones' Agent K, and is preparing to film Gangster Squad with director Ruben Fleischer and co-stars Ryan Gosling and Sean Penn. It's expected that Oldboy will fit into his schedule before he works with Jason Reitman on Labor Day next June. Adapted by Mark Protosevich, the story is about a man (Brolin) who is kidnapped and kept imprisoned for 15 years. One day he is released, given money, clothes and a phone, and sets out in the world to get revenge on the person that took a decade-and-a-half of his life away.

Brolin has been rumored for the part since July, and while I'm still not sure why we need a remake of Oldboy I suppose they could do a hell of a lot worse. So what do you think, folks? Can you see Josh Brolin taking down a hallway full of dudes with just a hammer?