No, Diego Luna Is No Longer Starring In The Scarface Remake — Is It Even Still Happening?

Scarface is one of Al Pacino’s most legendary roles and is still regularly quoted over 40 years since it was first released, so naturally, it was the perfect candidate for a remake, and Diego Luna was once involved. Alongside Al Pacino starring as Tony Montana, Brian De Palma was in the director’s chair, following his work on other major films like Carrie and Blow Out. Together, Pacino and De Palma made a dynamic combination, resulting in a film so gleeful in its excessiveness that it must be applauded, and has only gotten more appreciation over time.




Hot off the heels of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Diego Luna was tapped to take over as Tony Montana in the Scarface reboot that would see Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer) direct the film after David Ayer’s Scarface didn’t come to fruition. An inspired pairing, both Luna and Fuqua had proven throughout their careers that they’re strong candidates to do justice to what came before. Of course, things don’t always work out perfectly, especially in the film industry, and a number of changes to the reboot have left its status up in the air.


Diego Luna’s Scarface Remake Exit Explained

He Never Gave An Official Reason Why But Made It Clear He Had Left The Project


Diego Luna was first confirmed to star in Scarface in an exclusive piece by Variety back in 2017. Funnily enough, that same article explained that Antoine Fuqua was going to leave the project due to scheduling conflicts with The Equalizer sequel. Variety once again reported on Scarface in 2018, stating that Fuqua was back on board with the remake, and Luna was still attached to the project. Nearly two years had passed without any news revolving around Scarface, until Luna broke his silence about the reboot in early 2020.

At the time of development, Diego Luna was featured on the Netflix series,
Narcos: Mexico
, as drug trafficker Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, which was a good showcase for what his Scarface performance could have been like.


During the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, Collider briefly spoke with Diego Luna about any updates regarding Scarface, and whether he was still attached to the project. Luna simply stated, “No, no I’m not.” There is still no clear answer regarding Luna’s departure, but it is possible that he simply decided to walk away from the project after it had been stuck in developmental hell for several years at that point. Another possibility is that Luna could have been shifting all of his focus to the Andor series that started filming in late 2020 and was released in 2022.

The Scarface Remake’s Current Production Status

Luca Guadagnino Was Involved But Left The Project, Leaving Its Status Up In The Air

In May 2020, just a few months after Diego Luna confirmed that he would not be starring in Scarface, Variety reported that Luca Guadagnino (Suspiria, Call Me By Your Name) would be directing the film, taking over for Fuqua. Joel and Ethan Coen were the writers behind the most recent draft at the time. After that, Guadagnino was busy on a number of other projects, including Bones and All, which was released in 2022, and Challengers, which came out early in 2024, not allowing much time for Scarface.


Related

“The World, Chico, And Everything In It.” – 30 Best Scarface Quotes

Tony Montana’s word may be one of only two things he has in the world, but as the best Scarface quotes show, any word from him is golden.

Like everything that happened prior to Guadagnino taking over on Scarface, it was confirmed late in 2023 that he was no longer attached to the film. In an interview with The Hindu, the director gave a clear update on his involvement with the project: “I’m not working on ‘Scarface’ anymore.”Since the reports of Guadagnino’s exit, there have been no new developments around Scarface, leaving the status of the remake unclear — but it is unlikely to be happening anytime soon.