Cyber thrillers are quite in vogue at the moment, from mainstream awards bait such as Blackhat and Snowden to cheap thrills like Nerve and Unfriended. But since Oliver Stone appears to have let us down with Snowden, the world is crying out for a contemporary technology movie that really shines.
Well, the Coen brothers may be the ones who deliver. The acclaimed filmmakers have been recruited by Fox to work on the script for Dark Web, formerly called Silk Road. It is a biopic about the infamous website that sold illegal substances and more, as well as the rise and fall of its founder:
The project, which is based on a two-part Wired magazine article by Joshuah Bearman, was set up in 2013, with best-selling author Dennis Lehane taking the first crack at the screenplay. The true story centers on a 29-year-old idealist named Ross William Ulbricht (aka Dread Pirate Roberts) who built an online illegal-drug marketplace called “The Silk Road” and along the way allegedly became a murderous kingpin.
The Coens only appear to be writing the script and not actually making the movie. They do this every so often (more often later in their careers): Bridge of Spies, Unbroken and Gambit (not the Marvel film) all used Coen scripts, but weren’t produced or directed by them. So it should be made clear that Dark Web is not a new Coen Bros film.
But since the saga of Ross Ulrich and his website has been compared to their breakout hit Fargo, the Coens may be the right people for the job. Either way, this project’s pedigree has jumped up a few notches.
Last Updated: October 17, 2016
