News > Ratner to Direct Eddie Murphy in "Shrinking Man"

Brett Ratner is in talks to take the helm of "The Incredible Shrinking Man," a sci-fi remake written by Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant (both producers-stars of "Reno 911!"). Brian Grazer is attached as a producer for Imagine Entertainment and Eddie Murphy is expected to star.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, this new version (which at different times courted both Keenen Ivory Wayans and Peter Segal to direct) is taking "the comedic approach to the fantastical material, telling the story of a famous Las Vegas magician who is put under a spell that causes him to shrink. He must find a way to reverse the spell before he gets so small that he 'disappears.'"

This storyline is vastly different from the original, in which Grant Williams plays an ordinary man exposed to unusual radiation which in conjunction with insecticide causes him to rapidly… okay, that actually sounds even more ridiculous than "mysterious shrinking spell." 

It's not clear when Ratner would be interested in tackling this project as he still has to film his segment for the "New York, I Love You" anthology and he's also got a Hugh Hefner biopic called "Playboy" on the docket at Universal. And I seem to recall he was considering teaming up with Chris Tucker on a film based on the memoirs of Frank Sinatra's chauffeur. When it rains Ratner movies, it pours.

-David Morgan