Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past few weeks, you’ll have heard the story about notorious Mexican drug lord El Chapo’s remarkable escape from a maximum security prison. Now, the legendary criminal is coming to the big screen, with THR reporting that Ridley Scott is set to direct a fictionalised version of his story.
Fox has just acquired the rights to Don Winslow’s novel The Cartel, which is set in the world of Mexican drug-dealing, and focuses on El Chapo (real name Joaquin Guzman) as its lead character. According to the report, Scott has signed on to direct and produce a film adaptation, as he wraps up post-production on current project The Martian.
The story also focuses upon two friends who end up on working for the DEA and El Chapo’s cartel respectively. Fox already has its eye on a candidate for the DEA agent, with Leonardo DiCaprio said to have been approached by the studio to reunite with his Body Of Lies director. Winslow is currently working on adapting his novel into a screenplay, with a view to production kicking off later in the year.
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