March 28, 2015 - 11:26 AMT
Vincent D’Onofrio in talks to play villain in “Magnificent Seven”

Vincent D’Onofrio is in talks to play the villain in MGM and Sony’s “Magnificent Seven” remake starring Denzel Washington, according to Variety.

Chris Pratt and Ethan Hawke are also on board to star with Antoine Fuqua directing.

Sony and MGM are splitting the cost evenly with Sony distributing the pic. MGM will oversee production.

The 1960 film, itself a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai,” starred Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen. It centered on seven gunslingers who protect an oppressed Mexican village from a group of outlaws.

The script was most recently reworked by John Lee Hancock after “True Detective” creator Nic Pizzolatto wrote the previous draft.

Production is expected to start within the next month as Fuqua assembles the remaining cast.

No stranger to playing the villain, D’Onofrio can next be seen as the antagonist in Universal’s “Jurassic World” and as Marvel Comics bad guy Kingpin in Netflix’s “Daredevil” series. He was most recently seen in the Warner Bros.’ Liam Neeson thriller “Run All Night.”