James Mangold To Direct Joe Namath Biopic, Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Farris No Longer Have 'Good Luck'

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The Wolverine” director James Mangold may be all sewn up to helm the spin-off’s sequel for a pending release date sometime after 2016’s “X-Men: Apocalypse,” but that doesn’t mean he’s not lining up work in the meantime. 

THR reports Mangold will be returning to the world of biopics – he helmed the Joaquin Phoenix-starring Johnny Cash biopic, “Walk the Line” – with a new film focusing on beloved New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath aka “Broadway Joe.” The currently untitled film will reunite Mangold with the screenwriters behind his solid “3:10 to Yuma” remake, Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, and will “bring the life and times of [the] legendary football quarterback.” At this point that’s all we have to go on but with Namath being one of the more charismatic figures in football history – dude actually wore full-length fur coats on the sidelines – and with Mangold’s previous success with “Walk the Line,” expect this one to garner a lot of attention.

Though everything seemed all set to go for the Brie Larson-starring adaptation of “The Good Luck Of Right Now,” Deadline reports the Mike White-scripted film has hit a roadblock. “Little Miss Sunshine” directing duo Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris have left the Dreamworks project, allegedly over “creative disagreements” with the studio “over casting the ensemble.” Interestingly, Larson doesn’t appear to be signed to the film just yet but with Dreamworks working hard to find a directorial replacement, the rising star may finally commit. We only hope that gap until Dayton and Farris’ next film isn’t as long as the six years between “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Ruby Sparks.”