Wachowskis to direct "urban" Robin Hood

After 2008’s technicolour yawn of a movie Speed Racer, it seemed unlikely that the Wachowskis (Andy and Lana) would be allowed anywhere near a film ever again.

But lo and behold, as The Hollywood Reporter reveals, Warner Bros not only didn’t seem to mind the financial disaster but they’ve gone ahead and given the uncertain duo the thumbs up for two new projects.

The first is Cobalt Neural 9 (or CN-9), a romance/drama/war film that simultaneously involves a love story and a President Bush assassination plot. CN-9 is currently in production for release in 2012. Arianna Huffington (pictured between the siblings above) and Jesse Ventura are already credited as cast members and there is word circulating that Salman Rushdie and Cornel West have also been involved in some test footage.

But the Wachowskis being the Wachowskis, the Arianna Huffington-starring, alternate-universe war movie CN-9 is merely their second weirdest film in production. Their other (and far more baffling project) is the newly announced contemporary, urban version of Robin Hood, simply titled Hood.

The Wachowskis have apparently already written the script for this and will co-direct once production begins. In the meantime, rumours about them beginning their search for actors suggests that Will Smith is on the “to buy” list.

But with more than fifty different screen versions of Robin Hood already in existence (spanning the 1900s to the present day) it’s difficult to imagine how this version will improve upon what has come before. More importantly, why indeed it is even being made?

Discuss: What could the Wachowskis possibly bring to the tale of Robin Hood? Do we really need to see classic mythology in bullet time?