Ryan Reynolds, Brad Pitt Up For "Gunsmoke" Film

By our guest blogger, Matt Jussim

Brad Pitt is the top contender while Ryan Reynolds is amongst potential backup candidates to star as the lead in a film remake of classic western series "Gunsmoke" at CBS Films, reports The LA Times.

According to the LA Times: The job of Dodge City peacekeeper is proving to be one of the most desirable assignments around.

Several top-flight actors are in the running to play Marshal Matt Dillon, the lead lawman in CBS Films' big-screen adaptation of the classic Western television show "Gunsmoke" that starred James Arness.

Brad Pitt has emerged as a top contender for the role, with Ryan Reynolds also a candidate for the juicy, gunslinging part.

Currently tied with "Law & Order" as the longest running primetime drama in U.S. television history, the series was set in Dodge City, Kansas during the settlement of the American West. The show ran on CBS from 1955 to 1975.

Dillon is the Western hero charged with maintaining law and order in the period Kansas town filled with colorful vagrants, misfits and desperadoes. He carries on in these adventures with the help of town physician Doc Adams and tavern owner Miss Kitty Russell.

In the film version, penned by Gregory Poirier ("National Treasure: Book of Secrets"), Pitt or the other potentials would play the lead role of Marshall Matt Dillon, which Arness memorably played for 20 years. Several other actors are said to be in the mix for the Dillon part, which offers the dual appeal of playing an action hero who also has depth and period cachet.

Pitt would be an excellent choice for this role. He was excellent in the underrated “The Assassination of Jesse James,” so he would be comfortable in the Western scene. Reynolds also would be a great choice. After some recent humorous roles, Reynolds has remade himself as an action lead, preparing to shoot the titular role in "The Green Lantern.”

Either way, the studio is hoping that “Gunsmoke” will be the film that gets audiences excited for Westerns again, which have faded out in recent years.