‘Mr. Robot’ Star Rami Malek Joins Charlie Hunnam in the ‘Papillon’ Remake

At least one half of that headline is interesting, and the other half is…well, it’s Charlie Hunnam playing a role originated by the legendary Steve McQueen in a remake of Papillon. On the other hand, Mr. Robot star Rami Malek will take the Dustin Hoffman role the prison escape film, which has a screenplay from Prisoners scribe Aaron Guzikowski.

Deadline reports that Malek has joined Hunnam in the contemporary remake of Papillon, which is being helmed by Northwest director Michael Noer. The project is based on the 1973 film, which was in turn based on the memoirs of Henri Charriere, a criminal who escaped from Devil’s Island, the famous French penal colony in South America. Charriere was convicted of murder in 1930s France, but claimed he had been wrongly imprisoned for the crime. With the help of fellow prisoner and counterfeit expert Louis Dega, Charriere plotted an impressive escape and became a fugitive, later publishing his memoirs in 1969.

Hunnam will play the Charriere role originated by Steve McQueen; Malek will take the role of Dega, who was portrayed by Dustin Hoffman in the 1973 classic. Although he’s been acting for several years, Malek only recently broke out with his lead role in the acclaimed USA series Mr. Robot, in which he plays a hacker coping with mental health issues. If nothing else, hopefully the Papillon remake will help Malek translate his television success to a bigger film career.