Schwarzenegger mulling 'Last Stand,' 'The Tomb' (VAR, HV, /F)

By Nancy Tartaglione

On Wednesday evening, Ain't It Cool News and MovieWeb each reported on a story at Polish site FilmWeb that said Arnold Schwarzenegger would be replacing Liam Neeson in Jee woon Kim's "The Last Stand." Since then, the original FilmWeb story seems to have disappeared but other outlets, including /Film and Variety, report Schwarzenegger is indeed close to locking down the Lionsgate film. Variety adds that he is also eyeing Summit's "The Tomb."

Lorenzo di Bonaventura is producing "Last Stand" from a script by Andrew Knauer and Jeffrey Nachmanoff. Neeson, per Variety, had considered starring as a border-town sheriff who battles a Mexican cartel boss, but he ultimately moved on.

Schwarzenegger has reportedly not yet met with the director, but Heat Vision says he and Lionsgate are far along in the dealmaking process and a tentative late August start date is being eyed.

"The Tomb" is an Antoine Fuqua project about a structural security expert who's framed for a crime and put in a high-security prison that he designed. Variety sources say Schwarzenegger has had several meetings over the past couple weeks with Fuqua and Summit execs.

Fuqua is gearing up to direct a Tupac Shakur biopic this summer. If that goes forward, Variety notes that it could spur Schwarzenegger to consider other projects.