Face/Off (2017 film)

Face/Off is a 2017 science fiction action film directed by James Wan, and starring Michael Fassbender and Edward Norton. Fassbender plays a Reno police officer and Norton plays a serial rapist and murderer, who are sworn enemies who swap faces with each other. The film is a remake of the 1997 film of the same name. The film will be released on July 21, 2017 by Paramount Pictures and MGM.

Plot
In order to find a missing woman, Reno police officer Carl Murphy (Michael Fassbender) undergoes a face transplant surgery with murderer and serial rapist Joey Grimes (Edward Norton). But the plan goes horribly wrong when Grimes takes Murphy's face and assumes his identity.

Cast
Michael Fassbender – Carl Murphy/Joey Grimes

Edward Norton – Joey Grimes/Carl Murphy

Zooey Deschanel – Rachel Murphy

Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Peter Grimes

Kirsten Dunst – Haley Price

Sophie Turner – Olivia Murphy

Trivia

 * Much like John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, Michael Fassbender and Edward Norton spent a lot of time together, so they could learn to act like each other.
 * Joseph Gordon-Levitt is good friends with Zooey Deschanel, and convinced her to take the role of Rachel Murphy.
 * Michael Fassbender and Sophie Turner previously appeared together in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016).
 * Other actors besides Michael Fassbender and Edward Norton considered for the lead roles were Mark Wahlberg and Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Evan Peters, Keanu Reeves and Jim Carrey, Ryan Reynolds and Christian Bale, and Woody Harrelson and Daniel Craig. Joseph Gordon-Levitt would eventually be cast as Peter Grimes.
 * James Wan changed the names of the characters, the occupations of some characters, and the reason for vendetta to differ from the original film. In fact, Wan considers this film a "spiritual sequel" rather than a remake.
 * Sophie Turner dyed her hair black to resemble Zooey Deschanel.
 * In the scene where Carl-as-Joey has sex with Haley in the bathtub, Edward Norton improvised the part where Carl slams the back of his head on the tub.
 * Michael Fassbender speaks with an American accent in the movie, which was his choice.
 * The studio originally wanted a PG-13 rating, but James Wan fought for an R rating.
 * Early drafts of the script had Rachel dying after being raped by Joey Grimes, and there was going to be a love triangle between Carl, Joey, and Haley. James Wan decided to axe this idea however for unknown reasons.